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要挟 (yāo xié) — to coerce; to blackmail (by exploiting leverage or weakness)

Definition

要挟 (yāoxié) means to coerce or blackmail by exploiting someone's weakness, secret, or compromising position. It implies a threat to gain an advantage, not simple pressure.

verb
to coerceto blackmail (by exploiting leverage or weakness)

Examples

  • 要挟，。
    Tā yòng zì jǐ de zhí wù zhī biàn yāo xié xià shǔ, bèi gōng sī kāi chú le.
    He used his position to coerce subordinates and was fired by the company.
  • 要挟，。
    Fàn zuì xián yí rén shì tú yòng zhào piàn yāo xié shòu hài rén, dàn shòu hài rén bào le jǐng.
    The suspect tried to blackmail the victim with photos, but the victim called the police.
  • 要挟，。
    Bú yào bèi duì fāng yāo xié, guān jiàn shì yào bǎo liú zhèng jù.
    Don't be coerced by the other party; the key is to keep evidence.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

要yàodemand
挟xiécoerce

要 and 挟 both describe forcing someone through demands or leverage.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

要 began as a drawing of a person with both hands pointing to the waist.

Open 要 →

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 挾; 挟 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
夾
夾jiā挾xié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 挾 uses 扌, the hand shape also written 手, and 夾 as the sound part.

Open 挟 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

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