Definitions

liè tear; twist

Etymology phono-semantic

hand

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character is a phono-semantic compound made of the hand radical , which signals a physical action, and the phonetic , which also hints at bending or going against the norm. Its primary meaning has always been to twist, turn, wrench, or snap something with the hands. Over time, this concrete sense broadened to figurative contexts; its most common modern appearance is in 转捩点, a critical turning point or major shift in events.