夹
jiā
to press from either side
to place in between; to sandwich; to carry sth under armpit; wedged between; between; to intersperse; to mix; to mingle; clip; folder; Taiwan pr. [jia2]
person (夫) + pressed on both sides (丷) = to sandwich between
Imagine a person (夫) with something pressed under each arm — the two small strokes (丷) sit on either side, visually enacting the squeeze. The whole character performs the act it names.
她把书夹在腋下，走进了教室。
tā bǎ shū jiā zài yè xià，zǒu jìn le jiào shì。
She tucked the book under her arm and walked into the classroom.
他用两根手指夹住那张纸，递给了我。
tā yòng liǎng gēn shǒu zhǐ jiā zhù nà zhāng zhǐ，dì gěi le wǒ。
He pinched that piece of paper between two fingers and handed it to me.
Words with 夹
夹持
jiā chí
to clamp
双人包夹
shuāng rén bāo jiā
(sports) double-teaming
钱夹
qián jiā
wallet
防夹
fáng jiā
antipinch (e.g. preventing catching fingers in automatic car windows)
雨夹雪
yǔ jiā xuě
sleet
发夹
fà jiā
hair clip
鳄鱼夹
è yú jiā
crocodile clip
包夹
bāo jiā
to surround; to hem in
受夹板气
shòu jiā bǎn qì
to be attacked by both sides in a quarrel
夹七夹八
jiā qī jiā bā
completely mixed up
夹克
jiā kè
(loanword) jacket
夹具
jiā jù
clamp