魔掌 (mó zhǎng) — devil's clutches; evil hands

Definition

魔掌 (mózhǎng) literally means 'devil's palm' and means being trapped in an evil or hostile force's control — always negative, used for villains or oppressive powers. Common collocations: 逃出/落入/挣脱魔掌.

noun
devil's clutchesevil hands
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 魔掌。
    Tā zhōng yú táo chū le dí rén de mó zhǎng.
    He finally escaped from the enemy's clutches.
  • 魔掌。
    Xǔ duō wú gū de rén luò rù le dú fàn de mó zhǎng.
    Many innocent people fell into the clutches of drug dealers.
  • 魔掌。
    Tā nǔ lì zhèng tuō le nà ge zǔ zhī de mó zhǎng.
    She struggled to break free from that organization's clutches.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

魔módevil
掌zhǎngpalm

The devil 魔 gives an evil source, and 掌 is a grasping hand, forming the image of evil clutches.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鬼鬼guǐdemon
Sound part声符shēngfú
麻
麻má魔mó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

魔 pairs 鬼, meaning demon, with 麻, which gives the sound.

Open 魔 →

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
手手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng掌zhǎng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

It combines 手, meaning hand, with 尚, which gives it a sound close to shàng.

Open 掌 →

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