挤 (jǐ): to crowd; to push into (a crowd)

Meanings

1 to crowd; to push into (a crowd)
2 to squeeze; to press
3 crowded; packed

Characters

挤

jǐ

to squeeze; to crowd; to push

Examples

地铁太挤了。

Dìtiě tài jǐ le.

The subway is too crowded.

别挤！排队！

Bié jǐ! Páiduì!

Don't push! Line up!

他挤了一点牙膏。

Tā jǐ le yīdiǎn yágāo.

He squeezed out a bit of toothpaste.

我们挤进了地铁车厢。

Wǒmen jǐ jìn le dìtiě chēxiāng.

We squeezed into the subway car.

Tips

usage

挤 works as both a verb (to squeeze/push) and adjective (crowded). 挤地铁 = squeeze onto the subway. 很挤 = very crowded. 挤牙膏 = squeeze toothpaste (also slang for dragging out information reluctantly).

culture

挤地铁 (squeezing into the subway) is a daily reality in Chinese megacities. Beijing Line 13 and Shanghai Line 9 during rush hour are legendary. 人挤人 (rén jǐ rén) = people pressing against people.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand radical

Left radical 扌 is the side-form of 手 (hand). It marks 挤 as a hand-action: pressing, squeezing, jostling through a crowd. The hand radical groups 挤 with the family of physical-contact verbs — 推 (push), 拉 (pull), 抓 (grab), 按 (press).

phonetic

齐 qí

together; even

Right phonetic 齐 supplies the sound — qí shifted to jǐ via palatalization, the same shift that links 加 jiā / 架 jià. Faint semantic flavour bleeds through too: 齐 means 'all level, packed together evenly', which fits the squeezing/crowding sense of 挤. Same phonetic in 济 (jì, aid) and 剂 (jì, dose).