牵扯

• Pinyin: qiān chě
• Hanzi breakdown: 牵 = 牛 (ox) + 玄 (rope/string) (lead/pull by a rope); 扯 = 手 (hand) + 止 (stop) (drag/pull)

Meaning

To involve; to implicate; to drag into. To entangle someone or something in a matter, often unwillingly or with complicating effect.

Suggests unwanted involvement or entanglement, often in a negative affair. Stronger in implication than 涉及, emphasising the pulling or dragging in of parties. Common in legal, investigative, and social contexts. Can refer to either people being implicated or matters being connected.

Examples

1. 这起腐败案件牵扯到多名地方官员，调查范围已从一个县市扩展至整个省级行政区。 This corruption case involves multiple local officials, and the investigation has expanded from a single county-level city to the entire provincial administrative region.
2. 他原本只是一名普通证人，却不幸被牵扯进这场错综复杂的商业纠纷，身心俱疲。 He was originally just an ordinary witness, but unfortunately got dragged into this tangled business dispute and was exhausted in body and mind.
3. 资金链断裂引发的连锁反应牵扯到数十家供应商，最终演变成一场波及整个行业的债务危机。 The chain reaction triggered by a broken capital chain involved dozens of suppliers and eventually turned into a debt crisis that rippled through the entire industry.

Usage Guide

Context: legal, investigation, social affairs, business

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 审计报告显示，这批违规资金牵扯到集团旗下三家子公司，涉案金额已超过两亿元人民币。(The audit report shows that these irregularly used funds implicate three subsidiaries under the group, with the amount involved exceeding 200 million yuan.)
• 他一再声称自己与这起事件毫无关联，但检察机关掌握的证据清楚表明他被深度牵扯其中。(He repeatedly claimed to have no connection whatsoever to the incident, but the evidence held by the procuratorate clearly showed he was deeply implicated.)

Don't Say

• 这本书牵扯了很多有趣的话题 — 牵扯 implies unwanted or problematic involvement; for neutral topical coverage use 涉及/谈及/涵盖

Origin & History

牵 (pull/lead) + 扯 (drag/pull) — to pull and drag into; to implicate by drawing in

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal