揪痧

jiūshā

verb

Meanings

1 to pinch the skin (of the neck, throat, back) repeatedly as a folk remedy
2 a traditional pinching therapy meant to draw out 'heat' or stagnation

Characters

to pinch / grab and pull

red blotches associated with heatstroke (TCM)

Examples

奶奶说中暑了揪揪痧就好了。

Nǎinai shuō zhòngshǔ le jiū jiu shā jiù hǎo le.

Grandma says if you have heatstroke, a bit of skin-pinching will fix it.

揪痧之后脖子上会出现红印。

Jiūshā zhīhòu bózi shàng huì chūxiàn hóng yìn.

After jiusha pinching, red marks appear on the neck.

Tips

culture

揪痧 is a traditional Chinese folk remedy in the same family as 刮痧 (guāshā, scraping therapy). Practitioners pinch the skin between knuckles until red blotches appear; the marks (痧 shā) are believed to indicate 'released' pathogenic heat. Common home treatment for heatstroke, headaches, and colds in northern China.

memory

揪 (jiū) means 'to pull / pinch sharply' — think of grabbing someone's collar. Combined with 痧 (the red marks) it literally is 'pinching out the sha'.

Stroke Order

揪 jiū

痧 shā