拐弯
guǎi wān · HSK 7
to turn a corner
🛣️ 拐 turn + 弯 bend = round the bend, take a corner
拐 means to turn or veer, 弯 means a bend or curve. Stack them and you get going around a curve or turning a corner; figuratively, a change of direction.
拐 — hand radical 扌 + 另 (another)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 indicates an action done with the hand, while 另 ('another, separate') suggests turning aside or diverging. Originally meaning a walking stick or crutch, 拐 extended to verbs like 'to turn (a corner)' and later 'to kidnap/abduct'.
弯 — bow 弓 + 䜌 (phonetic)
A phono-semantic compound: 弓 (bow) gives the meaning 'curved, bent,' since a drawn bow forms an arc, while 䜌 supplies the sound. The simplified form 弯 keeps 弓 below a reduced top component. The core sense has always been 'bend' or 'curve.'