手掌心 (shǒu zhǎng xīn) — center of the palm; (figurative) the area under…

Definition

Literally 'center of the palm' (the concave middle of your hand). The figurative sense — 在…手掌心里 — means 'in someone's control or grasp'.

noun

center of the palm(figurative) the area under one's controlsomeone's grasp

Measure word · 个

，手掌心。
Tā bǎ shǒu tān kāi, kàn zhe zì jǐ de shǒu zhǎng xīn.
He spread his hand and looked at his own palm.
手掌心。
Zhěng gè xiàng mù dōu zài tā de shǒu zhǎng xīn lǐ.
The whole project is in his control.
手掌心。
Bú yào bǎ suǒ yǒu quán lì dōu fàng zài yí gè rén de shǒu zhǎng xīn lǐ.
Don't put all power in one person's hands.

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.

手掌palm

偏正Modifier + head

手掌 means 'palm' and 心 means 'center', so the whole names the middle of the palm.

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.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

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.

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

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Appears in