胁持 (xié chí) — to hold under duress, to take hostage | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

verb

to hold under duressto take hostage

Examples

胁持，。
Jié fěi xié chí le rén zhì, yāo qiú jǐng fāng tí gōng chē liàng.
The robbers took the hostages and demanded the police provide a vehicle.
胁持。
Tā bèi xié chí le zhěng zhěng sān tiān cái huò jiù.
He was held under duress for three full days before being rescued.
胁持。
Jǐng fāng chéng gōng jiě jiù le bèi xié chí de chéng kè.
The police successfully rescued the passengers who were taken hostage.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

胁 (coerce) and 持 (hold) combine to mean forcing someone under control.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 脅; 胁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

劦

劦xié脅xié

Same sound today

The traditional form 脅 combines 肉, flesh, with 劦 for the sound; the simplified 胁 is a later shorthand.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

寺

寺sì持chí

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

持 combines 手 (hand), for the idea of holding, with 寺, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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