手痒 (shǒu yǎng) — itchy hands (literal); an itch to do something; a strong urge to act (figurative)

Definition

An idiomatic way to say you can't resist doing something yourself — 'my hands are itching.' Used when watching others do an activity you want to join in.

noun
itchy hands (literal)an itch to do somethinga strong urge to act (figurative)

Examples

  • ，手痒。
    Kàn dào bié rén dǎ lán qiú, wǒ shǒu yǎng le.
    Seeing others play basketball, I got an itch to play too.
  • ，手痒。
    Tā hǎo jiǔ méi huà huà le, xiàn zài shǒu yǎng dé hěn.
    He hasn't painted in a long time, and now he's really itching to.
  • ，手痒。
    Bié zài wǒ miàn qián xià qí, wǒ huì shǒu yǎng de.
    Don't play chess in front of me — I'll get an itch to join.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

手shǒuhand
痒yǎngitch

手 names the body part and 痒 describes its itching, giving an itch in the hands.

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
疒疒nèillness
Sound part声符shēngfú
羊
羊yáng痒yǎng
Same sound today

痒 is built from 疒, showing illness, and 羊, which gives its sound.

Open 痒 →

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