押

• Pinyin: yā
• Hanzi breakdown: 押 = 扌+ 甲 (hand radical + armour/shell — gripping tightly; to hold in custody, in pledge, or in rhyme)

Meaning

To escort under guard; to detain; to mortgage or pledge as collateral. Also used in the literary sense of rhyming (押韵).

Has two main usage clusters: (1) escorting prisoners or valuable cargo under guard — 押送, 押运; (2) pledging property or assets as security — 押金 (deposit), 抵押 (mortgage). A third use involves rhyming in verse: 押韵. All senses share the underlying idea of holding or binding something firmly.

Examples

1. 法警将被告从羁押场所押送至法庭，全程保持严密戒备，以防途中发生任何意外状况。 Court officers escorted the defendant from detention to the courtroom under tight security to prevent any incident along the way.
2. 租房时，房东通常要求租客预先缴纳相当于一至两个月租金的押金，作为履行合同义务的担保。 When renting an apartment, landlords usually require tenants to pay a security deposit in advance—often equal to one or two months’ rent—as a guarantee of fulfilling the contract.
3. 这首格律诗押韵严谨工整，诵读起来朗朗上口，充分展现了诗人对汉语声调韵律之美的精湛掌控。 This regulated verse poem uses rhyme with rigorous precision; it’s a pleasure to recite and fully demonstrates the poet’s masterful command of the tonal and rhythmic beauty of Chinese.

Usage Guide

Context: law, finance, real estate, literature

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 银行要求借款人以名下房产作为抵押，方可批准该笔大额贷款申请。(The bank required the borrower to pledge their property as collateral before the large loan application could be approved.)
• 武装押运人员护送这批贵重文物从博物馆安全转移至临时展览场地，全程未出现任何意外。(Armed escort personnel safely transported the valuable cultural relics from the museum to the temporary exhibition venue without any incident throughout the process.)

Don't Say

• 押他去购物 — 押 implies official custody or compulsion; for accompanying someone casually use 陪 or 带; using 押 for a voluntary outing sounds like a forced escort

Origin & History

押 = 扌+ 甲 (hand radical + armour/first — gripping firmly with the hand; to hold in custody or as a pledge)

Cultural Context

Era: Classical/Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal