jǔ shǒu
raise one’s hand or hands
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请举手回答问题。
Qǐng jǔshǒu huídá wèntí.
Please raise your hand to answer the question.
他举手示意要发言。
Tā jǔshǒu shìyì yào fāyán.
He raised his hand to indicate that he wanted to speak.
我们举手表决通过了这项提案。
Wǒmen jǔshǒu biǎojué tōngguòle zhèxiàng tí'àn.
We voted to pass the proposal by raising our hands.
放下 (fàngxià)
put down
低头 (dītóu)
lower one's head
The Chinese word 举手 (jǔshǒu) is composed of two characters: 举 (jǔ) and 手 (shǒu). The character 举 originally meant "to lift up" or "to raise," and it is often used in the sense of "to hold up" or "to support." The character 手, on the other hand, simply means "hand." When these two characters are combined, they form the word 举手, which literally means "to raise one's hand." This gesture is often used to express a variety of meanings, including "to ask a question," "to volunteer," or "to surrender." In addition to its literal meaning, 举手 can also be used figuratively to mean "to take action" or "to make a move." For example, the phrase 举手之劳 (jǔshǒu zhī láo) literally means "the effort of raising one's hand," but it is often used to refer to a task that is easy to do or that requires little effort.
