TongTong
Sign in

手脚 (shǒu jiǎo) — (literal) hands and feet; limbs; (figurative) underhanded trick; secret manipulation; shady move

Definition

Hands and feet (literal body parts) — for the abstract 'action' sense, it specifically means underhanded moves or manipulation, narrower than 行动 or 行为 (any action/behavior). The figurative sense is typically used with 做 or 动, as in 做手脚 (tamper).

noun
(literal) hands and feetlimbs(figurative) underhanded tricksecret manipulationshady move
Measure word · 道

Examples

  • 手脚。
    Tā yùn dòng shí shǒu jiǎo hěn líng huó.
    His hands and feet are very nimble when he exercises.
  • 手脚。
    Yǒu rén zài zhè fèn hé tong lǐ zuò le shǒu jiǎo.
    Someone tampered with this contract.
  • ，。
    Xuǎn jǔ bèi hòu yǒu rén dòng shǒu jiǎo, jié guǒ bèi jiē fā le.
    Someone rigged the election behind the scenes, and it was exposed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

手shǒuhand
脚jiǎofoot

手 hand and 脚 foot: limbs, then actions or tricks.

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 腳; 脚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat, body
Sound part声符shēngfú
卻
卻què腳jiǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 腳 uses ⺼ for a body part and 卻 for the sound; the simplified 脚 is a later shorthand.

Open 脚 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Body Parts

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