Mnemonic
Your hand darts into the tank to grab a lobster, but the creature retaliates — clamping its enormous claw around your finger in a brutal pinch! Now you're pinching the lobster and the lobster is pinching you right back. Neither side lets go in this savage pinch standoff.
Additional thoughts
Visualize the symmetry: your hand squeezes the lobster's body while its claw squeezes your finger — both sides applying pressure from two surfaces, perfectly capturing the sandwiching/clamping meaning of this kanji.Quick recall
Your hand grabs a lobster and it pinches you right back.Details
The keyword for 挟 is pinch. This kanji refers to the action of squeezing or holding something tightly between two surfaces, such as between one's fingers, chopsticks, or under one's arm. It conveys the idea of clamping or sandwiching an object from both sides, applying pressure to grip it securely. By extension, it can also mean to be caught or trapped between two things.
- On'yomi
- きょう、しょう
- Kun'yomi
- はさ.む、はさ.まる、わきばさ.む、さしはさ.む