拿

ná

to hold

to seize; to catch; to apprehend; to take; (used in the same way as 把[ba3]: to mark the following noun as a direct object)

combine (合) + hand (手) = take hold of something

The hand (手) at the bottom does the gripping work; 合 mainly lends the sound ná. Picture a hand closing around something to take hold of it.

合+手→拿

合To joinPhonetic

手The human handSemantic

阿芒拿

ā máng ná

(chemistry) (loanword) ammonal

马拿瓜

mǎ ná guā

Managua, capital of Nicaragua (Tw)

一把死拿

yī bǎ sǐ ná

stubborn

亚米拿达

yà mǐ ná dá

Amminadab (son of Ram)

代拿买特

dài ná mǎi tè

(loanword) dynamite

加拿大

jiā ná dà

Canada

加拿大太平洋铁路

jiā ná dà tài píng yáng tiě lù

Canadian Pacific Railway

加拿大皇家

jiā ná dà huáng jiā

prefix for Canadian Navy Vessels

加拿大皇家海军

jiā ná dà huáng jiā hǎi jūn

Royal Canadian Navy

加拿大雁

jiā ná dà yàn

(bird species of China) cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii)

十拿九稳

shí ná jiǔ wěn

(idiom) to be a cinch; in the bag

吃人家的嘴软，拿人家的手短

chī rén jiā de zuǐ ruǎn , ná rén jiā de shǒu duǎn

lit. the mouth that has been fed by others is soft, the hand that has received doesn't reach (idiom)