捏

Phono-semantic compound:

捏 = 手 (“hand”, semantic) + 圼 (“to block; knead”, phonetic)

手 — semantic, indicating manual action (pinching, shaping, manipulating).

圼 — phonetic element, Middle Chinese approximate reading net / njet, giving Sino-Korean 날.

The phonetic component 圼 also relates to meanings of pressing / obstructing, which aligns with the physical sense of pinching or squeezing.

Semantic development:

- physical: pinch, press, knead

- physical / creative: mold, shape (clay/dough)

- figurative: fabricate (a story), invent falsely

- psychological: suppress emotions (捏著一把汗 “to hold one’s breath in tension”)

Fabrication / falsification:

捏造 (날조) — fabrication; falsifying facts

捏造罪 (날조죄) — crime of falsification

捏說 (날설) — made-up story (rare)

Manual action / shaping:

捏製 (날제) — kneading or molding (craft/ceramic contexts; rare)

捏土 (날토) — modeling clay (very rare/technical)

Psychological / metaphorical:

捏一把汗 (날일파한, Chinese loan phrase) — “to hold one’s breath from tension” (not idiomatic in native Korean but appears in Chinese texts read in SK)

The Sino-Korean reading is unusual because it reflects older phonology tied to the 圼 phonetic series.

捏 belongs to the same extended family as 捺 (날), 訥 (눌 / 날 in some dialectal readings historically).

Classical citations:

《晉書·王敦傳》 (Book of Jin)

「敦捏造讒言。」

“Dun fabricated slanderous accusations” — 捏 = to fabricate; to invent falsely.

《太平御覽·器物部》 (Taiping Yulan)

「陶人以手捏泥為器。」

“The potter kneads the clay with his hands to make vessels” — 捏 = to knead; to shape.

民間俗語（古俗說） (ancient proverbs)

「捏鼻而過。」

“Pinch your nose and pass by” (i.e., endure something unpleasant) — 捏 = to pinch; hold.

《水滸傳》 (Water Margin) – Ming dialect usage

「捏作話來嚇人。」

“He made up a story to frighten people” — 捏作 = to fabricate.