捻 means “twist”

ひねる · hineru

Also: twirl, play with

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

ねじる, ひねくる, ひねる

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ネン, ジョウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 11 strokes

The story

A hand (扌) beside 念, a thought kept in mind: picture turning an idea over and over. 捻る is to twist, a tap or your brain, as in 頭を捻る, to rack your brains, 捻挫 is a sprain, and 捻出 is squeezing money from a tight budget.

Used in 捻る (hineru, to twist), 捻挫 (nenza, sprain), and 捻出 (nenshutsu, scraping together)

More from Grip, Rub & Twist

• 剝 peel
• 塡 fill
• 摘 pick out
• 振 wave
• 握 grip
• 携 carry
• 扱 handle
• 摩 rub
• 撲 strike
• 抽 draw out
• 据 set in place
• 擦 rub

Learn 捻 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.