抢

• Pinyin: qiǎng
• Hanzi breakdown: 抢 = 扌(hand) + 仓 (granary, phonetic), to grab/snatch

Meaning

To grab; to snatch; to rob; to scramble for. Taking something forcefully or competing urgently.

Used for robbery (抢劫), competition (抢购 rush to buy, 抢票 scramble for tickets), and urgency (抢时间 race against time, 抢救 emergency rescue). Implies speed and force.

Examples

1. 小偷抢了她的包就跑了。 The thief snatched her bag and ran.
2. 双十一大家都在抢购打折商品。 Everyone is rushing to buy discounted products on Double Eleven.
3. 他抢在别人前面回答了这个问题。 He answered the question before anyone else could.

Usage Guide

Context: crime, shopping, competition

Tone: urgent

Do Say

• 火车票太难抢了。(Train tickets are so hard to get.)
• 别抢，一个一个来。(Don't grab, one at a time.)

Don't Say

• 我抢了这本书。(Implies theft — say 我买到了这本书 or 我抢到了这本书 for successfully getting it)

Origin & History

扌(hand) + 仓 (granary, phonetic). To grab with the hand, originally seizing grain.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal