手工 (shǒu gōng) — handicraft, handwork | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A noun for handmade objects or the craft of making them by hand. Contrast with 人工 (man-made, often industrial) and 手艺 (the maker's skill). 说明书 and 手册 mean a written manual/guide.

noun

handicrafthandwork

Examples

手工。
Tā xǐ huan shōu jí shǒu gōng.
She likes to collect handicrafts.
手工。
Zhè ge shǒu gōng shì nǎi nai zuò de.
This handwork was made by grandma.
手工。
Tā huā le sān gè yuè zuò zhè jiàn shǒu gōng.
He spent three months making this handwork.

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.

The idea of 手 paired with 工 gives work done by hand, i.e. handicraft.

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.

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

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Crafts & Handiwork

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