拧 meaning and stroke order
To pinch; wring
How to write 拧, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 拧
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to pinch
- wring
- mistake
- to twist
- stubborn
How 拧 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Hand.
扌 gives the meaning and 宁 hints at the sound.
Radical: 扌 (hand), shared by 342 characters on this site.
How to remember 拧
拧 has the hand radical 扌 on the left and 宁 (níng) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture a hand twisting something until the sound níng comes out.
In the second tone, níng means to wring or pinch, as in wringing out a towel or pinching someone's arm. In the third tone, nǐng means to twist or screw, like turning a cap or a bottle lid. Example: 把毛巾拧干。(Bǎ máojīn níng gān.) Wring the towel dry.
Common mistake: Learners often use one tone for every meaning. Wringing and pinching are níng, but twisting a lid or screw is nǐng, as in 拧开瓶盖 (nǐng kāi píng gài). Also, do not confuse 拧 with 柠 (níng) in 柠檬 (níngméng, lemon), which has the wood radical 木 instead of the hand.
拧 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 拧
How many strokes are in 拧?
拧 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 拧 mean?
拧 (níng) means to pinch; wring.
How do you pronounce 拧?
拧 is pronounced níng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 拧?
The radical of 拧 is 扌, which carries the idea of "hand". Dictionaries list 拧 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 拧?
The traditional form of 拧 is 擰. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 拧 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 拧 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 拧 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say to tighten or loosen a screw with 拧?
Use 拧紧 (nǐng jǐn) for tighten and 拧松 (nǐng sōng) for loosen. Both use the third tone nǐng because the action is twisting.
What does 拧 mean when it describes a person?
Read as nìng, it means stubborn or contrary, as in 他脾气很拧 (tā píqi hěn nìng), he has a stubborn temper. This use is mostly spoken and colloquial.