手淫 (shǒu yín) — masturbation; to masturbate

Definition

A formal/clinical term for 'masturbation,' used in medical, scientific, or written contexts rather than everyday speech. In casual conversation, speakers more often say 自慰 (zìwèi) or simply use slang.

masturbationto masturbate

Examples

  • ，手淫。
    Yī xué yán jiū biǎo míng, shì dù de shǒu yín bú huì duì jiàn kāng zào chéng wēi hài.
    Medical research shows that moderate masturbation does not cause health problems.
  • 。
    Qīng shào nián duì shǒu yín gǎn dào hào qí shì zhèng cháng de shēng lǐ xiàn xiàng.
    It's a normal physiological phenomenon for adolescents to be curious about masturbation.
  • 手淫。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì tā jiǎn shǎo shǒu yín de pín lǜ yǐ gǎi shàn shēn tǐ zhuàng kuàng.
    The doctor advised him to reduce the frequency of masturbation to improve his physical condition.

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
淫yínsexual indulgence

The sense of 手 as hand and 淫 as sexual indulgence gives masturbation.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㸒
㸒㸒淫yín
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape combines 氵 (the water form of 水) with 㸒, which supplies the sound.

Open 淫 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.