劫持

• Pinyin: jié chí
• Hanzi breakdown: 劫 = 去 + 力 — to rob; 持 = 扌(hand) + 寺 — to hold

Meaning

To hijack; to hold hostage; to take by force. Seizing control of a vehicle, person, or situation through threats.

Most commonly used for airplane hijacking, but can also refer to kidnapping, hostage-taking, or seizing control of any vehicle. In computing, it can describe domain or session hijacking. A serious crime term frequently seen in news reports.

Examples

1. 恐怖分子劫持了一架从巴黎飞往纽约的客机。 Terrorists hijacked a passenger plane flying from Paris to New York.
2. 警方正在全力解救被劫持的人质。 Police are making every effort to rescue the hostages.
3. 黑客通过恶意软件劫持了数百万用户的浏览器。 Hackers hijacked millions of users' browsers through malware.

Usage Guide

Context: crime, terrorism, news

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 飞机被劫持了。(The plane has been hijacked.)
• 人质已被安全解救。(The hostages have been safely rescued.)

Don't Say

• 用'劫持'形容普通的强迫行为 (Don't use 劫持 for ordinary coercion — it specifically means taking hostages or hijacking)

Origin & History

Composed of 劫 (to rob; to seize) + 持 (to hold; to grasp). Together they describe the act of seizing and maintaining control by force.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal