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一手 (yī shǒu) — (noun) skill, expertise in a particular area (often used in 有一手); (adverb) all by oneself, single-handedly, without outside help

Definition

As an adverb, 一手 means doing something entirely oneself, emphasizing the single agent from start to finish — unlike 独自 (alone, just the state). As a noun in 有一手, it means having a particular skill or trick.

noun
skillexpertise in a particular area (often used in 有一手)
adverb
all by oneselfsingle-handedlywithout outside help

Examples

  • 。
    Tā huà huà yě yǒu yì shǒu.
    He has a knack for painting too.
  • 。
    Zhè ge jì huà shì tā yì shǒu cè huà de.
    This plan was planned single-handedly by him.
  • 。
    Tā yì shǒu cāo bàn le zhěng chǎng hūn lǐ.
    She managed the entire wedding all by herself.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

一yīone
手shǒuhand

一 gives one and 手 gives hand, yielding a skill or single-handed action.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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