折

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.

扌+斤→折
扌HandSemantic
斤AxeSemantic

请把这张纸从中间折一下。

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

Please fold this piece of paper in half.

她把信折好后放进了信封里。

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

转折点

zhuǎn zhé diǎn

turning point

折合

zhé hé

to convert into

折叠

zhé dié

to fold

折叠式

zhé dié shì

folding (i.e. portable)

一波三折

yī bō sān zhé

calligraphic flourish with many twists

折损

zhé sǔn

to suffer losses; to lose (some of one's reputation, one's fleet, one's staff etc)

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)

七折八扣

qī zhé bā kòu

lit. various cuts and deductions (idiom)

More characters with 扌

搒撤扩抒择