交臂

jiāobì
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 to link arms
  2. 2 arm in arm
  3. 3 to brush past (someone) closely

Examples

HSK 2
Tāmen jiāobì zǒu zài gōngyuán lǐ.
They walked arm in arm through the park.
HSK 4
Wǒmen céng jiāobì ér guò, què méi rènchū duìfāng.
We once brushed past each other but didn't recognize one another.

Tips

usage
Most often seen in the set phrase 失之交臂 - 'to miss by a hair', literally 'to lose it as arms cross'. The image is two people passing close enough to touch but failing to connect.

Stroke Order

jiāo