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There is this song called 不能讲的秘密 (well, technically it's best spelt as 袂使讲的秘密), "Secret I cannot tell", and it is in Min Nan. At a certain point, there is this sentence:

将你捏紧紧

That's how the lyrics spell it. I already restored 絚絚 | ân-ân from 台湾闽南语常用词辞典, but I have a hard time figuring out 捏. I mean, according to the aforementioned dictionary, 捏 means "pinch", so "I pinch you tight"? This is a love song, "you" is the singer's loved one, the lyrics continue with "因为惊失去你", "because I fear to lose you", so what is "pinch" doing there?

Surely it must be "hug", right? But then what is the spelling, and how is it pronounced?

捏 transliterates to tēnn, so it fits what I hear, but the meaning is off. Looking for the Min version of 擁抱 with the 对应华语 feature of the dictionary only yields 相攬, looking for the Min version of just 抱 leads to many results with no trace of something sounding like "te", my only suggestion (probably from looking for "te" in the dictionary) was 缔 | tè, but that has no entry on the dictionary, and doesn't seem to mean "hug" in Chinese.

So what verb is this? Am I right that it means "hug"? How is it spelt and how is it pronounced?

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http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/2049/

(1) pinch; hold with fingers (2) knead; mould (3) bring together (4) fabricate; concoct; cook up (5) clench

  • hold with fingers / clench= grab ; hold on tight

"因为惊失去你", "because I fear to lose you"

Imagine a mother turns to leave after she dropped her kid off in daycare. The kid just grab holds of her pants leg and wouldn't let go.

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