About
崴 is a phonosemantic compound: 山 represents the meaning, and 威 represents the sound. The character originally described the rugged, towering, or uneven appearance of mountains. In northern Chinese dialects, it developed a completely different colloquial meaning and pronunciation, becoming a common verb for twisting or spraining an ankle or wrist, a sense that draws on the unevenness of rocky mountain paths leading to awkward steps and injury. Today, this dialectal verb is the character's most frequent use in everyday speech.
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