按

àn
#573 most
frequent character
press, push, check, restrain
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

按 pairs 扌 hand with 安 ān, a sound part. The hand part gives the first sense, to press down by hand. It grew to push down and to restrain. The sense “according to” was borrowed by sound, not from the hand.

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Example Sentences

请按这个按钮。
qǐng àn zhègè ànniǔ 。
Please press this button.
你能帮我按一下吗？
nǐ néng bāng wǒ àn yīxià ma ？
Can you help me press it for a moment?
医生让我按住伤口。
yīshēng ràng wǒ ànzhù shāngkǒu 。
The doctor asked me to press on the wound.

Words with similar meanings

压yā
press
This is a more general term for applying pressure but can refer to both physical and metaphorical pressure.
推tuī
push
Typically implies a forceful action to move something away or forward, not just applying pressure.

Homophones

案àn
(legal) case, incident, record

Words Starting With 按

按时àn shí
on time; before deadline; on schedule
按照àn zhào
according to; in accordance with; in the light of; on the basis of
按摩àn mó
massage

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