拿捏

Chinese

		to hold; to seize; to catch to hold; to seize; to catch; to apprehend; to take	to pinch (with one's fingers); to knead; to make up
simp. and trad. (拿捏)		拿	捏

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): nániē

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄚˊ ㄋㄧㄝ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): naa⁴ nip⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: nániē → nánie (toneless final syllable variant)
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄚˊ ㄋㄧㄝ → ㄋㄚˊ ˙ㄋㄧㄝ (toneless final syllable variant)
    • Tongyong Pinyin: nánie̊
    • Wade–Giles: na²-nieh⁵
    • Yale: ná-nye
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: na.nhie
    • Palladius: нане (nane)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /nä³⁵ ni̯ɛ⁵⁵/ → /nä³⁵ ni̯ɛ³/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: naa⁴ nip⁶
    • Yale: nàh nihp
    • Cantonese Pinyin: naa⁴ nip⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: na⁴ nib⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /naː²¹ niːp̚²/

Verb

拿捏

1. to grasp; to control; to weigh

   他這個人嘻皮笑臉，一點都不知看場合拿捏分寸。 [MSC, trad.]
   他这个人嘻皮笑脸，一点都不知看场合拿捏分寸。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā zhège rén xīpíxiàoliǎn, yīdiǎn dōu bùzhī kàn chǎnghé nániē fēncùn. [Pinyin]

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 咱們這樣人家固然不仗著自己做，但只到底知道些，日後纔不受人家的拿捏。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     咱们这样人家固然不仗着自己做，但只到底知道些，日后才不受人家的拿捏。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Cao Xueqin, Dream of the Red Chamber, mid-18^th century CE

     Zánmen zhèyàng rénjiā gùrán bù zhàng zhe zìjǐ zuò, dàn zhǐ dàodǐ zhīdào xiē, rìhòu cái bù shòu rénjiā de nániē. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. (dialectal) to deliberately make things difficult; to threaten

   • 他又在海內遇著你的差人，奪了請帖，徑入水晶宮，拿捏我父子們，有『結連妖邪，搶奪人口』之罪。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     他又在海内遇着你的差人，夺了请帖，径入水晶宫，拿捏我父子们，有『结连妖邪，抢夺人口』之罪。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West, 16^th century CE

     Tā yòu zài hǎinèi yù zháo nǐ de chāirén, duó le qǐngtiě, jìng rù shuǐjīnggōng, nániē wǒ fùzǐ men, yǒu ‘jiélián yāoxié, qiǎngduó rénkǒu’ zhī zuì. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Adjective

拿捏

1. (dialectal) coy; affecting shyness

   別老那麼拿捏，自然點兒。 [MSC, trad.]
   别老那么拿捏，自然点儿。 [MSC, simp.]

   Bié lǎo nàme nániē, zìrán diǎn ér. [Pinyin]

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

References

• “拿捏”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.