捺 (nà): to press down firmly

Meanings

1 to press down firmly
2 to restrain; to suppress
3 right-falling stroke (in Chinese characters)

Characters

捺

nà

to press down firmly

Examples

HSK 4

她按捺不住内心的激动。

Tā ànnà bùzhù nèixīn de jīdòng.

She could not hold back her excitement.

HSK 6

他在合同上捺了手印。

Tā zài hétong shàng nà le shǒuyìn.

He pressed his fingerprint onto the contract.

Tips

culture

In calligraphy, 捺 names the right-falling diagonal stroke (the one ending the character 大). The figurative sense 'to press down / hold back' survives mostly in 按捺 (to restrain).

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand

Left 扌 is the hand radical 手 in left-side form. It marks this as a hand action, pressing something down with the fingers.

phonetic

奈 nài

how

Right 奈 supplies the sound (nài drifting to nà). It also appears as the phonetic in 捺's near-homophone family, sharing the 示 base.

Stroke Order

捺 nà

Related Words

按捺不住 ànnà-bùzhù #47,701

unable to hold back / can't suppress (an emotion or impulse) / unable to contain oneself

倒下 dǎoxià HSK 7-9 #4,263

to fall down / to collapse / to be struck down

打倒 dǎdǎo HSK 7-9 #5,212

to overthrow / to knock down / down with

关闭 guānbì HSK 4 #2,087

to close; to shut / to shut down; to close down

忽高忽低 hūgāo-hūdī HSK 7-9

fluctuating / rising and falling / up and down

跪下 guìxià #4,909

to kneel down / to get on one's knees

倒数 dàoshǔ HSK 7-9 #4,209

to count backwards; to count down / inverse number; reciprocal (math)

催 cuī HSK 7-9 #5,240

to urge / to press / to rush (someone)

得了 déle HSK 5 #3,922

that's enough!; all right! / come on! (expressing impatience or dismissal)

出版 chūbǎn HSK 5 #3,577

to publish / to come off the press