挤

• Pinyin: jǐ
• Hanzi breakdown: 挤 = 扌 (hand) + 齐 (even, together) — to push together, squeeze

Meaning

To squeeze; to crowd; crowded. The act of pressing or pushing into a tight space, or the state of being packed tightly.

As a verb, means to squeeze (挤牙膏 squeeze toothpaste), to push through crowds, or to make time (挤时间). As an adjective, describes crowded conditions. 挤出 means to squeeze out or carve out. 挤满 means packed full.

Examples

1. 早高峰的地铁太挤了，几乎没法呼吸。 The subway during morning rush hour is too crowded, almost impossible to breathe.
2. 他从繁忙的工作中挤出时间陪家人。 He squeezes out time from his busy work to be with family.
3. 商场开业那天，人们挤满了整个广场。 On the mall's opening day, people crowded the entire plaza.

Usage Guide

Context: transportation, everyday, time management

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 公交车上太挤了，我们打车吧。(The bus is too crowded, let's take a taxi.)
• 我每天都要挤时间学习英语。(I have to squeeze out time every day to study English.)

Don't Say

• 说'挤他的钱'表示骗钱 (Don't use 挤 for extorting money — use 骗 or 敲诈; 挤 is physical squeezing or time management)

Origin & History

挤 is composed of 扌 (hand) + 齐 (even, together), depicting hands pushing things together into a tight space.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal