按 (àn): to press, according to
按 (àn) is a Chinese character meaning “to press, according to.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (semantic) and 安 (phonetic). It ranks #573 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 按 hand. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to press, according to
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 按 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 按
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 按钮 | àn niǔ | to push a button |
| 按摩师 | àn mó shī | masseur |
| 按部就班 | àn bù jiù bān | (idiom) to follow the prescribed order |
| 按键 | àn jiàn | button or key (on a device) |
| 按揭 | àn jiē | a mortgage (loanword via Cantonese) |
| 按理说 | àn lǐ shuō | it is reasonable to say that... |
| 按兵不动 | àn bīng bù dòng | to hold back one's troops without moving (idiom) |
| 按期 | àn qī | on schedule |
| 按压 | àn yā | to press |
| 按说 | àn shuō | in the ordinary course of events |
| 按理 | àn lǐ | according to reason |
| 按捺不住 | àn nà bu zhù | to be unable to hold back |
| 编者按 | biān zhě àn | editor's commentary |
| 按劳分配 | àn láo fēn pèi | distribution according to work |
| 按图索骥 | àn tú suǒ jì | lit. looking for a fine horse using only a picture (idiom) |
按 appears in 49 compound words: 88 as the first character, 6 as the last, and 6 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 按 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
to temporarily stand down one's army (to wait and see how things develop)
to do something in an orderly manner; to follow the prescribed order; to keep to the conventional ways
distribution according to need (principle of distribution in a communist society)
distribution according to need (principle of distribution in a communist society)
Example Sentences
请按这个按钮启动机器，然后等待指示灯亮起。
Qǐng àn zhè gè ànniǔ qǐdòng jīqì, ránhòu děngdài zhǐshìdēng liàng qǐ.
Please press this button to start the machine, then wait for the indicator light to come on.
怎么证明避孕药成功了?月经按时来潮能作为可靠依据吗
zěn má zhèng míng bì yùn yào chéng gōng le ? yuè jīng àn shí lái cháo néng zuò wéi kě kào yī jù ma
How to prove that the pill is successful? Can menstruation be used as a reliable basis?
人行:春节假期银联及网联处理日均交易额按年增19.3%
rén háng : chūn jié jiǎ qī yín lián jí wǎng lián chǔ lǐ rì jūn jiāo yì é àn nián zēng 1 9 . 3
People's Bank of China: The average daily transaction volume of UnionPay and Netlink increased by 19.3% year-on-year during the Spring Festival holiday
正论:留港消费情已逝 出境外游按年升
zhèng lùn : liú gǎng xiāo fèi qíng yǐ shì chū jìng wài yóu àn nián shēng
Commentary: Consumption in Hong Kong is gone, and outbound travel is increasing year-on-year
港置周末10大屋苑录得约2宗成交按周下跌约50%
gǎng zhì zhōu mò 1 0 dà wū 苑 lù dé yuē 2 zōng chéng jiāo àn zhōu xià diē yuē 5 0
Hong Kong Property's top 10 housing estates recorded about 2 transactions over the weekend, down about 50% week-on-week
女演员表演突发意外,绳子卡住致其无法按计划动作,坚..
nǚ yǎn yuán biǎo yǎn tū fā yì wài , shéng zǐ kǎ zhù zhì qí mó fǎ àn jì huá dòng zuò , jiān . .
The actress had an accident during her performance, and the rope got stuck, preventing her from performing as planned...
你能把这清单按字母顺序排列吗？
Nǐ néng bǎ zhè qīngdān àn zìmǔ shùnxù páiliè ma?
Could you rearrange this list so it's in alphabetical order?
我们按例处罚了他。
Wǒmen àn lì chǔfá le tā.
We punished him according to the rules.
按口味加盐和胡椒粉。
àn kǒuwèi jiā yán hé hújiāofěn.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
我想要按摩。我需要放松。
Wǒ xiǎngyào ànmó. wǒ xūyào fàngsōng.
I want a massage. I need to relax.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 按 (àn)?
Is 按 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 按 with real-time feedback
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