verb HSK 5 #3,550

Meanings

  1. 1 to hold; to grasp
  2. 2 to grip; to shake (hands)

Examples

HSK 2
Wòshǒu biǎoshì yǒuhǎo.
Shaking hands shows friendliness.
HSK 3
Yào bǎwò hǎo jīhuì.
You need to seize the opportunity.
HSK 5
Jǐnjǐn wòzhù bù fàng.
Hold tight and don't let go.

Tips

usage
is used in: 握手 (to shake hands), 把握 (to grasp/be confident), 掌握 (to master/grasp), 握住 (to hold onto). 掌握 is especially common - 'to master' a skill or language.

Components

radical
shǒu
hand (radical form)
Left hand radical - the side-form of . Anchors in physical grip: to grasp, hold, shake hands. Same radical in (grab), (take), (push), (hug). The semantic load is fully carried here; the right side is purely phonetic.
phonetic
house; room
Right supplies the sound - wū drifted to wò with tone shift. Same phonetic in (wò, rich) and (wò, dirty). The "house" meaning has no semantic role here; it is a pure sound carrier chosen for the wo- rhyme.

Stroke Order