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捏一把冷汗

niē yī bǎ lěng hàndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to break out into a cold sweat (idiom)
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-4165b5bd3571805d. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

捏一把冷汗 捏一把冷汗 [nie1 yi1 ba3 leng3 han4] /to break out into a cold sweat (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

  • 捏
    niē

    to hold between the thumb and fingers / to pinch / to mold (using the fingers) / to hold (lit. in one's hand and fig.) / to join together / to fabricate (a story, a report, etc)

  • 一
    yī

    one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit

  • 把
    bǎ

    to hold / to grasp / to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate / handlebar / classifier: handful, bundle, bunch / classifier for things with handles / (used to put the object before the verb: 把[bǎ] + {noun} + {verb})

    bà

    handle

  • 冷
    lěng

    cold

    Lěng

    surname Leng

  • 汗
    hán

    see 可汗[kè hán], 汗國|汗国[hán guó]

    hàn

    perspiration / sweat / CL:滴[dī],頭|头[tóu],身[shēn] / to be speechless (out of helplessness, embarrassment etc) (Internet slang used as an interjection)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.