Definition
拿人 is a colloquial separable verb (离合词) with two distinct senses. The first is 'to intimidate or cause trouble for someone' — using one's power or position to make things hard for others. The second, more literal sense is 'to arrest a criminal' (used in law enforcement). It can also colloquially mean 'to grab someone's attention' (e.g. a performance that 拿人). As a separable verb, you can insert elements between 拿 and 人, like 拿不住人 ('can't intimidate people').
v.o.
(colloquial) to intimidateto cause difficulties for someone(colloquial) to grab someone's attentionto arrest a criminal
Examples
- ，拿人。Tā zhàng zhe zìjǐ shì lǐngdǎo, zǒng xiǎng ná rén.He relies on being the boss and always tries to intimidate people.
- 拿人，。Zhège jiémù hěn ná rén, guānzhòng dōu kàn dāi le.This show really grabs your attention — the audience was mesmerized.
- 。Jǐngchá zài jiē shàng ná le yí ge rén.The police arrested someone on the street.
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