掰 (bāi): to break off or break open sth with one's hands, (fig.) to break off (a relationship)
掰 (bāi) is a Chinese character meaning “to break off or break open sth with one's hands.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 手 (structural), 分 (structural) and 手 (structural). It ranks #2991 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 掰 to tear something 分 with both hands 手. 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 break off or break open sth with one's hands
- (fig.) to break off (a relationship)
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo tear something 分 with both hands 手
Decomposition: ⿲手分手 (layout: left-middle-right)
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 掰开verb | bāi kāi | to pull apart |
| 掰掰 | bāi bāi | bye-bye (loanword) (Tw) |
| 掰腕子verb | bāi wàn zi | arm wrestling |
| 分星掰两 | fēn xīng bāi liǎng | punctilious |
| 机掰 | jī bāi | variant of 雞掰|鸡掰 |
| 掰直verb | bāi zhí | to straighten |
| 掰开揉碎 | bāi kāi róu suì | lit. to pull apart and knead to a pulp |
| 假掰adjective | gēi bāi | (Tw) affected |
| 掰手腕verb | bāi shǒu wàn | arm wrestling |
| 牛掰 | niú bāi | see 牛屄 (euphemistic synonym of 牛屄) |
| 闹掰verb | nào bāi | (dialect) to have a falling-out (with sb) |
| 鸡掰noun | jī bāi | (Tw) (vulgar) cunt (from Taiwanese 膣屄, Tai-lo pr. [tsi-bai]) |
| 掰弯verb | bāi wān | to bend |
| 掰扯 | bāi che | to debate |
| 瞎掰verb | xiā bāi | (coll.) to talk nonsense |
掰 appears in 15 compound words: 53 as the first character, 40 as the last, and 7 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 掰 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
掰照镜子,整理一下自己的仪容。
bāi zhào jìng zǐ , zhěng lǐ yī xià zì jǐ de yí róng .
Check your reflection in the mirror and tidy up your appearance.
但是本机拆机非常胆战心惊,底盖卡扣巨多,非常容易猪王行为(掰断卡扣)。
dàn shì běn jī chāi jī fēi cháng dǎn zhàn xīn jīng , de gài kǎ kòu jù duō , fēi cháng róng yì zhū wáng háng wéi ( bāi duàn kǎ kòu ) .
However, taking this device apart is a nerve-wracking experience—the back cover has so many latches that it’s very easy to break them off.
这会导致“狗熊掰棒子”,看似学会了叠袜子,但以前很溜的洗盘子反而退步了。
zhè huì dǎo zhì gǒu xióng bāi bàng zǐ , kàn sì xué huì le dié wà zǐ , dàn yǐ qián hěn liū de xǐ pán zǐ fǎn ér tuì bù le .
This can lead to a situation where, while the child seems to have learned how to fold socks, their once-impressive dishwashing skills actually get worse.
如果非要掰扯,青海湖周边也算草原,但更像高山草甸,附着在高海拔山区上的一层草皮。
rú guǒ fēi yāo bāi chě , qīng hǎi hú zhōu biān yě suàn cǎo yuán , dàn gēng xiàng gāo shān cǎo diàn , fù zhe zài gāo hǎi bá shān qū shàng de yī céng cǎo pí .
If you really want to split hairs, the area around Qinghai Lake could be considered a grassland, but it’s more like an alpine meadow—a layer of grass clinging to the high-altitude mountains.
月之暗面黄震昕:Kimi 的目标是和海外那三家模型掰手腕,B 端业务占比正在持续提升
yuè zhī àn miàn huáng zhèn 昕 : K i m i de mù biāo shì hé hǎi wài nà sān jiā mó xíng bāi shǒu wàn , B duān yè wù zhàn bǐ zhèng zài chí xù tí shēng
The Dark Side of the Moon: Huang Zhenxin: Kimi Aims to Go Head-to-Head with Those Three Overseas Models; B2B Business Share Continues to Rise
“民进党宝宝”陈怡君掰了!绿六都议员初选 3人遭撤销登记
mín jìn dǎng bǎo bǎo chén yí jūn bāi le ! lǜ liù dōu yì yuán chū xuǎn 3 rén zāo chè xiāo dēng jì
"DPP baby" Chen Yijun broke up! Three people in the primary election of the Green Six Metropolitan Councilors were deregistered
面条下锅前要先掰成小块。
Miàntiáo xià guō qián yào xiān bāi chéng xiǎo kuài.
Before you put the noodles in the pot, you have to break them up into small pieces.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 掰 (bāi)?
Is 掰 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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