把
to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; (used to put the object before the verb: 把[ba3] + {noun} + {verb}); handle
Closest English meanings
grasp·handle·measure word·hold
The Calligrapher — Xī Chāo 郗超
Eastern Jin statesman and calligrapher of cursive script, follower of the two Wangs.
Eastern Jin calligrapher (), master of cursive script — known for 郗愔之子. Eastern Jin dynasty
Cultural Story
把 is to grasp, and the 說文 gives it as the hand on the handle. Bai Juyi's 卖炭翁 has the old man 手把文书口称敕 — document in hand, edict on his lips — as the officers take his load. The hand with 巴, to cling, is the grip that holds. It is the hold and the measure of a handful.
Common words & phrases
- 把握 grasp · confidence
- 把持 control · monopolize
- 把守 guard
- 把手 handle
- 一把 a handful
Read the story behind the character
把 is the grip and the word: 把握 the confidence, 把持 the monopoly, 把守 the post, 把手 the door's grip. 一把 is the handful of the recipe. It names the hold on a thing and the hold on power, the handle and the handful, often in the same enterprise.
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