扯 (chě) - to pull & to tear
扯 · chě
to pull;
to tear;
to drag;
to chat;
to gossip;
to talk idly
to pullto tearto drag
Usage highlights
to pullto tear apartto chat idlyto drag alongto make excusesto tear down
Usage & contexts
Examples
- Don't pull my sleeve (扯袖子).
- They were chatting about trivial matters (扯闲话).
- He tore the paper in half (把纸扯成两半).
- Let's not digress from the topic (别扯远了).
Collocations
- to pull(拉扯)
- to tear apart(扯开)
- to chat idly(闲扯)
- to drag along(扯着)
- to make excuses(扯理由)
- to tear down(扯下)
Idioms
- To pull someone's hind leg(扯后腿)
- To talk nonsense(胡扯)
- To drag in irrelevant matters(东拉西扯)
- To tear down the tiger skin as a banner(扯虎皮拉大旗)
Cultural background
FAQ- Originally meant 'to pull, to tear' in physical sense, later extended to verbal actions like 'chatting' or 'gossiping'.
- In Chinese culture, '扯后腿' (pulling hind legs) metaphorically means to hinder someone's progress.
- The character reflects the hand radical (扌) indicating manual action, combined with 止 (stop) suggesting pulling something to a stop.