掐

• Pinyin: qiā
• Hanzi breakdown: 掐 = 扌(hand) + 臼 (mortar — cupped shape) + 匕 (dagger shape) — a grasping, pinching action performed with the hand

Meaning

To pinch; to nip off; to grip tightly with the fingers. To pinch skin between fingers, or to nip off a shoot with the fingernails; also to strangle or to calculate by counting on fingers.

Multiple meanings: 1) pinch skin (掐人中 — pinch the philtrum to revive someone); 2) nip off a plant shoot; 3) throttle/strangle (掐脖子); 4) calculate precisely (掐指一算 — count on fingers). Common in informal speech and idioms.

Examples

1. 老中医轻轻掐住患者的人中穴位，片刻后昏厥的病人便慢慢恢复了意识，呼吸逐渐平稳。 The elderly Chinese medicine doctor gently pinched the point under the patient’s nose; moments later, the fainted patient slowly regained consciousness and their breathing steadied.
2. 她习惯每天清晨掐去花盆里多余的嫩芽，以促使植物将更多养分集中输送至主干与花蕾。 She makes a habit of pinching off the extra new shoots in the flowerpot every morning, so the plant can direct more nutrients to the main stem and buds.
3. 两个孩子为了争夺玩具而互相掐打，父母赶紧上前将他们分开并分别安抚了各自的情绪。 The two children pinched and hit each other while fighting over a toy, and their parents quickly stepped in to separate them and calm them down.

Usage Guide

Context: medicine, daily life, gardening, colloquial

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 遇到有人突然晕厥时，可尝试轻轻掐其人中穴位，这是一种广为人知的简单急救应急手法。(If someone suddenly faints, you can try gently pinching their philtrum acupoint — this is a widely known simple first-aid technique.)
• 她掐指一算，发现距离项目截止日期只剩不到十天，立刻催促团队加快推进各项工作进度。(She counted on her fingers and realised fewer than ten days remained before the project deadline — she immediately urged the team to accelerate progress across all tasks.)

Don't Say

• 掐掉这个计划 — use 取消/砍掉/叫停 for cancelling plans; 掐 is a physical action, not an administrative term (though 掐断 can mean to cut off a connection)

Origin & History

扌(hand) indicating manual action; character suggests gripping tightly with fingers

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal