捏 (niē): to hold between the thumb and fingers, to pinch, to mold (using the fingers)
捏 (niē) is a Chinese character meaning “to hold between the thumb and fingers.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (semantic) and 圼 (phonetic). It ranks #2388 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 捏 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 hold between the thumb and fingers
- to pinch
- to mold (using the fingers)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 捏造verb | niē zào | to make up |
| 扭扭捏捏verb | niǔ niǔ niē niē | affecting shyness or embarrassment |
| 凭空捏造 | píng kōng niē zào | fabrication relying on nothing (idiom) |
| 捏一把汗 | niē yī bǎ hàn | to break out into a cold sweat (idiom) |
| 捏合verb | niē hé | to act as a go between |
| 捏一把冷汗 | niē yī bǎ lěng hàn | to break out into a cold sweat (idiom) |
| 柿子挑软的捏 | shì zi tiāo ruǎn de niē | lit. it's the soft persimmons that people choose to squeeze (idiom) |
| 拿捏verb | ná niē | (lit. and fig.) to grasp |
| 捏脊治疗 | niē jǐ zhì liáo | chiropractic (medicine) |
| 捏积noun | niē jī | see 捏脊 |
| 砌词捏控 | qì cí niē kòng | to make an accusation based on fabricated evidence (idiom) |
| 捏估 | niē gu | to act as a go-between |
| 捏碎 | niē suì | to crush (sth) in one's hand |
| 扭捏verb | niǔ nie | affecting shyness or embarrassment |
| 捏脊noun | niē jǐ | form of therapeutic massage, mainly for children, in which a roll of skin is squeezed, working from the base of the s... |
捏 appears in 15 compound words: 60 as the first character, 20 as the last, and 20 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 捏 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
他捏起袖子，开始认真地打扫房间。
tā niē qǐ xiù zǐ , kāi shǐ rèn zhēn dì dǎ sǎo fáng jiān .
He rolled up his sleeves and began cleaning the room thoroughly.
因为 AI 抄写员捏造了她服用迷幻蘑菇的经历，她说自己从未碰过迷幻蘑菇。
yīn wéi A I chāo xiě yuán niē zào le tā fú yòng mí huàn mó gū de jīng lì , tā shuō zì jǐ cóng wèi pèng guò mí huàn mó gū .
Because the AI transcriber fabricated her experience with magic mushrooms, she said she had never touched them.
轻松拿捏波司登羽绒服清洗方法
qīng sōng ná niē bō sī dēng yǔ róng fú qīng xǐ fāng fǎ
Easy Tips for Washing Bosideng Down Jackets
...因为你少了这份秘籍!掌握系别克制,轻松拿捏精灵对战!小洛克,这是你正式迈向王国魔法...
. . . yīn wéi nǐ shǎo le zhè fèn mì jí ! zhǎng wò xì bié kè zhì , qīng sōng ná niē jīng líng duì zhàn ! xiǎo Luò kè , zhè shì nǐ zhèng shì mài xiàng wáng guó mó fǎ . . .
...because you're missing this guide! Master elemental affinities and dominate Spirit battles with ease! Little Rock, this is your first step into the realm of magic...
幼儿园老师捏裂孩子耳朵 当地教育局通报
yòu ér yuán lǎo shī niē liè hái zǐ ěr duǒ dāng dì jiào yù jú tōng bào
Kindergarten Teacher Pinches Child's Ear; Local Education Bureau Issues Statement
“真的不要闹耶!”长辈喊捏婴鼻子才会挺
zhēn de bù yāo nào 耶 ! cháng bèi hǎn niē yīng bí zǐ cái huì tǐng
“Seriously, stop messing around!” The older person shouted, pinching the baby’s nose to make it stick up.
汤姆捏了玛丽的手。
Tāngmǔ niē le Mǎlì de shǒu.
Tom squeezed Mary's hand.
她虚弱的样子让我捏了一把汗。
Tā xūruò de yàngzi ràng wǒ niē le yī bǎ hàn.
It worried me that she looked pale.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 捏 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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