手

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 手 (shǒu) for "hand" is a pictograph that depicts a hand with five fingers. The earliest known form of the character, found in oracle bone inscriptions from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE), is a simple drawing of a hand with four fingers and a thumb. Over time, the character evolved to its current form, with five fingers and a more stylized appearance.The character 手 is composed of two parts: the radical 扌 (shǒu), which represents the hand, and the phonetic component 又 (yòu), which is used to indicate the pronunciation of the character. The radical 扌 is also used in other characters related to the hand, such as 指 (zhǐ) for "finger" and 掌 (zhǎng) for "palm".The character 手 has a wide range of meanings in Chinese, including "hand", "arm", "skill", and "ability". It is also used in many idioms and proverbs, such as 一手遮天 (yī shǒu zhē tiān) for "to cover the sky with one hand" (i.e. to have great power or influence) and 十指连心 (shí zhǐ lián xīn) for "the ten fingers are connected to the heart" (i.e. all parts of the body are connected and interdependent).The character 手 is also used in many Chinese names, such as 王手 (Wáng Shǒu) and 李手 (Lǐ Shǒu). In addition, it is used in the names of many Chinese martial arts, such as 太极手 (Tàijí Shǒu) and 八卦掌 (Bāguà Zhǎng).