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手势 (shǒu shì) — gesture; hand signal

Definition

A gesture made with the hands to communicate non-verbally — different from 符号 (a written/graphic symbol) and 示意 (the act of signaling or hinting).

noun
gesturehand signal
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 手势，。
    Tā zuò le yí gè shǒu shì, ràng wǒ men ān jìng.
    He made a gesture for us to be quiet.
  • 手势。
    Bù tóng wén huà zhōng de shǒu shì hán yì kě néng wán quán bù tóng.
    The meaning of gestures can be completely different across cultures.
  • 手势“”。
    Zhè ge shǒu shì zài zhōng wén lǐ biǎo shì "méi wèn tí".
    This gesture means 'no problem' in Chinese.

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.

手shǒuhand
势shìposture

The idea of 手 paired with 势 gives the posture of the hand, i.e. a gesture.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 勢; 势 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìpower
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì勢shì
Same sound today

The traditional form 勢 combines 力, meaning power, with 埶 for the sound. The simplified 势 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 势 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Communication & Speech

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