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CC-CEDICT: 杠杆 (gànggǎn): lever / pry bar / crowbar / financial leverage
In English there are two types of lever, one which pivots via a fulcrum and is used for raising objects...
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
...and another which operates some kind of mechanism, such as in a hilarious scene from The Emperor's New Groove:
I'm not sure if the Chinese 杠杆 can take on this second meaning.
Question: Can 杠杆 ("lever") be used for levers which operate mechanisms?
A lever using leverage to lift an object is called "杠杆" (pry bar)
A lever for operating mechanisms is called "操纵杆" (control stick/operating lever)
A joystick is also a "操纵杆" (for game control)
扳机/ 扳杆 (trigger/ lever) that only move in two directions is what we see in that scene
I think the second one is more referred to as 把手/手柄 (handle) or 机关/扳机 (trigger). I never hear people call that a 杠杆. 杠杆 only means the first one, which is some mechanism that magnifies force, including abstract ones like in finance.
