手 shǒu — hand; a person good at something (歌手 a singer, 选手 a contestant)

Pinyin

• shǒu (third tone, dipping)

hand; a person good at something (歌手 a singer, 选手 a contestant)

Character breakdown

• 手shape partA single pictograph: an open hand held up, fingers and wrist.

Mnemonic

An open hand held up: three horizontals for the fingers, a hooked vertical for the wrist and forearm. Pushed to the left of a character it loses the hook and becomes 扌, the hand at work in 打, 找 and 拿. Laid flat on top of an eye it shades the brow, which is exactly what 看 shows. 洗手 is to wash the hands; 手机 is the hand machine, a phone.

A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.

Words containing 手

• 手机/手機shǒujī (third tone, dipping)mobile phone
• 手表/手錶shǒubiǎo (third tone, dipping)wristwatch
• 洗手间/洗手間xǐshǒujiān (third tone, dipping)toilet, washroom, restroom

Radical 手 — other characters

• 找zhǎo (third tone, dipping)to look for, to seek; to call on somebody; to give change
• 换/換huàn (fourth tone, falling)to exchange, to swap, to trade; to change, to replace; to change (money, clothes, trains)
• 拿ná (second tone, rising)to take, to hold, to pick up; to seize, to capture; with, using (as a preposition)