押
yā · HSK 7
to detain in custody
🔒 Hand 扌 presses down on a 甲 seal to pawn, detain, or escort under guard.
扌 (hand) + 甲 (shell, armor, official seal). The hand stamps a seal: 押 covers pledging goods (mortgage, pawn), holding people (detain in custody), and signing off to escort and protect a shipment.
押 — hand radical 扌 + 甲 (jiǎ, phonetic)
押 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 supplies the meaning of pressing or holding down with the hand, while 甲 gives the sound. From the literal sense of pressing, it extended to signing/sealing documents, mortgaging, and detaining — all involving an authoritative 'pressing' action.