zhé

variant of 折[zhe2]

to fold

hand (扌) + axe (斤) = fold or break

斤 is an axe, and 扌 is the hand — together they evoke the act of chopping or bending something with force. This physical image extends naturally to folding, breaking, or creasing.

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HandSemantic
AxeSemantic

请把这张纸从中间一下。

qǐng bǎ zhè zhāng zhǐ cóng zhōng jiān zhé yī xià。

Please fold this piece of paper in half.

她把信好后放进了信封里。

tā bǎ xìn zhé hǎo hòu fàng jìn le xìn fēng lǐ。

She folded the letter and put it into the envelope.

Words with 折

折衷

zhé zhōng

variant of 折中[zhe2 zhong1]

邮折

yóu zhé

(philately) presentation pack

酷刑折磨

kù xíng zhé mó

torture and cruel treatment

骨折

gǔ zhé

to suffer a fracture

一折两段

yī zhé liǎng duàn

to split sth into two (idiom)

一波三折

yī bō sān zhé

calligraphic flourish with many twists

七折八扣

qī zhé bā kòu

lit. various cuts and deductions (idiom)

不折不扣

bù zhé bù kòu

a hundred percent

九折

jiǔ zhé

10% off (price)

凸折线

tū zhé xiàn

convex polygonal line

反酷刑折磨公约

fǎn kù xíng zhé mó gōng yuē

UN convention against torture and cruel treatment (ratified by PRC in 1988)

周折

zhōu zhé

twists and turns

More characters with 扌