About
扯 is a phonosemantic compound: 扌 (hand) on the left indicates a manual action, and 止 (zhǐ) on the right is the phonetic component (its meaning "stop" is unrelated). The original meaning is the action of pulling, tearing, or ripping something apart by hand, such as tearing fabric or pulling a string tight. From this concrete physical act, the character developed a figurative sense related to casual, aimless talk, gossiping, chatting idly, or speaking nonsense, as if one were pulling words out of the air. 扯 is the simplified form of 撦; in the traditional character, the phonetic was 奢 (shē), but the simplified version replaced it with the simpler 止 while maintaining a similar sound.
Example Sentences Hide
你别扯我的头发。
他扯下了海报。
绳子被扯断了。
我们闲扯了一会儿。
别胡扯了，说正事。
这件事扯上了很多人。
你扯得太远，回不到主题了。
双方在谈判中互相扯皮。
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