挟持

• Pinyin: xié chí
• Hanzi breakdown: 挟 = 扌+ 夹 (hand + to clamp — to grip under the arm, to coerce); 持 = 扌+ 寺 (hand + temple — to hold steady, to control)

Meaning

To hold hostage; to coerce; to seize and control by force. To compel someone to act against their will by using them as a bargaining tool or applying forcible pressure.

Used in criminal, political, and metaphorical contexts. Literally means to grip someone under the arms to control them. Commonly appears in news reports about hostage-taking, kidnappings, or political coercion. Metaphorically, 挟持 can describe a powerful actor using leverage to force a weaker party into compliance.

Examples

1. 劫匪挟持了银行内的三名人质，要求警方提供逃跑车辆，并威胁称任何强攻都将造成伤亡。 The robbers took three hostages inside the bank, demanded a getaway vehicle from the police, and threatened that any forced assault would lead to casualties.
2. 谈判专家奉命与挟持人质的歹徒展开对话，争取在保全所有人员安全的前提下化解危机。 A negotiation specialist was ordered to open a dialogue with the hostage-taker and resolve the crisis while keeping everyone safe.
3. 部分国家担忧，经济上的高度依赖可能使本国在外交谈判中遭到对手的挟持和要挟。 Some countries worry that heavy economic dependence could leave them vulnerable to being coerced and pressured by rivals in diplomatic negotiations.

Usage Guide

Context: crime, law, politics, diplomacy, news

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 特警部队在确认人质安全位置后，对挟持现场实施了精准突破，成功将所有被扣押人员解救出来。(After confirming the safe location of the hostages, the special police unit executed a precision breach of the hostage site and successfully freed all detained individuals.)
• 分析人士指出，债权国通过债务条件对债务国施加的经济挟持，已成为当代地缘政治博弈中的新型手段。(Analysts point out that the economic coercion exerted by creditor nations over debtor nations through debt conditionality has become a novel instrument in contemporary geopolitical rivalry.)

Don't Say

• 他被挟持了很久 — while grammatically possible, 挟持 describes an ongoing act of holding hostage rather than its duration; say 他被挟持长达数小时 or 他遭挟持后被关押了数日 for duration clarity

Origin & History

挟 (to grip under the arm/to coerce) + 持 (to hold/control) — to grip and control someone by force; to hold hostage

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal