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巴掌 (bā zhang) — palm of the hand; (noun) a slap (as in 打一巴掌)

Definition

巴掌 is the everyday word for 'palm' and also the standard unit in the slap phrase 打一巴掌. The more technical/formal 同义词 is 手掌; 拍 is the verb 'to slap/pat' that goes with 巴掌.

noun
palm of the handa slap (as in 打一巴掌)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 巴掌。
    Tā de bā zhang shàng quán shì hàn.
    His palms are all sweaty.
  • 巴掌，。
    Guān zhòng men bù tíng dì pāi bā zhang, biǎo shì zàn shǎng.
    The audience kept clapping to show their appreciation.
  • 巴掌。
    Tā qì dé zhí pāi bā zhang.
    He was so angry he kept clapping his hands.

Origin

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 巴 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Body Parts

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