击掌 (jī zhǎng) — to clap hands together (as a gesture of greeting, celebration, or confirmation)

Definition

Two people slap their palms together as a gesture — to celebrate, greet, or seal an agreement. It is a shared, mutual action between two people, not clapping in general.

verb
to clap hands together (as a gesture of greeting, celebration, or confirmation)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 击掌。
    Tā men gāo xìng dì jī zhǎng qìng zhù.
    They happily clapped hands to celebrate.
  • ，。
    Bǐ sài jié shù hòu, liǎng rén jī le sān cì zhǎng.
    After the match, the two clapped hands three times.
  • 击掌。
    Jiào liàn hé duì yuán hù xiāng jī zhǎng gǔ lì.
    The coach and team members clapped hands to encourage each other.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

击jīstrike
掌zhǎngpalm

击 means strike and 掌 means palm, so the action is striking palms.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 擊; 击 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
毄
毄jī擊jī
Same sound today

The traditional form 擊 has 手 (hand) and 毄; 毄 gives the sound and also points to striking, while the simplified 击 is a later shorthand.

Open 击 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng掌zhǎng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

It combines 手, meaning hand, with 尚, which gives it a sound close to shàng.

Open 掌 →

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