插手

• Pinyin: chā shǒu
• Hanzi breakdown: 插 = 扌(hand) + 臿 (spade — phonetic/semantic); 手 = pictograph of a hand

Meaning

To interfere; to stick one's nose in; to get involved in something.

Literally 'to insert one's hand'. Usually carries a mildly negative connotation — getting involved in something not one's business. Can be neutral in some contexts (插手帮忙, pitch in to help), but the negative sense is dominant.

Examples

1. 这件事是他们两人之间的私事，外人最好不要随意插手。 This is a private matter between the two of them — outsiders had better not casually interfere.
2. 在市场竞争中，政府过度插手往往会扭曲资源配置，抑制创新活力。 In market competition, excessive government interference often distorts resource allocation and suppresses innovation.
3. 他主动插手帮忙整理资料，让整个团队提前完成了任务。 He proactively pitched in to help organise the materials, allowing the whole team to finish the task ahead of schedule.

Usage Guide

Context: relationships, politics, business, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这件事你就别插手了，让他们自己解决吧。(Don't get involved in this — let them sort it out themselves.)
• 外国势力插手别国内政是对主权的严重侵犯。(Foreign forces interfering in another country's internal affairs is a serious violation of sovereignty.)

Don't Say

• 他插手了一本书。(插手 is an intransitive verb phrase meaning 'to interfere' — it does not take a book as its object; use 翻了 or 拿起)

Origin & History

插 (to insert, stick in) + 手 (hand). To literally or figuratively 'insert one's hand' into a situation.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal