扭曲
niǒuqū · HSK 7
distort
🔩 扭 = twist + 曲 = bent/crooked, so 扭曲 = twisted-bent = distort
扭 means to twist or wrench, and 曲 means bent or crooked. Together they describe something wrenched out of its true shape — a distortion. Pronounced niǔqū, with the second syllable qū sharing its character with the word for a song's melody, which also bends and curves.
扭 — hand radical 扌 + 丑 (chǒu, phonetic)
扭 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 indicates an action done with the hand, while 丑 supplies the sound. It originally meant to twist or wrench by hand, and still carries senses like to turn, twist, or sprain.
曲 — pictograph of a bent carpenter's tool or curved object
曲 is a pictograph showing a bent or curved shape, originally depicting a carpenter's measuring tool or a curved frame. From this concrete image of bending came the abstract senses of 'crooked,' 'wrong,' and 'tune/melody' (since songs follow winding contours). The reading qū carries the bending senses, while qǔ means 'song.'