手迹 (shǒu jì) — (someone's) original handwriting or calligraphy; (someone's) original painting

Definition

手迹 (shǒujì) means an original handwritten work — the author's actual hand, not a copy. It pairs naturally with 名人 (famous people) and 收藏 (to collect), as the value lies in who wrote it.

noun
(someone's) original handwriting or calligraphy(someone's) original painting
Measure word · 幅
Easily confused

Examples

  • 手迹。
    Zhè fú shū fǎ shì táng dài míng rén de shǒu jì.
    This calligraphy piece is the original handwriting of a famous Tang dynasty person.
  • 手迹。
    Bó wù guǎn shōu cáng le tā de shǒu jì hé huà zuò.
    The museum collected his original handwriting and paintings.
  • 手迹。
    Zhè xiē shǒu jì bǎo cún dé fēi cháng wán hǎo.
    These original writings (by his own hand) are very well preserved.

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
迹jìtrace

手 is hand and 迹 is trace; together they mean traces left by the hand.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòmove
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì迹jì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迹 pairs 辶, a movement part, with 亦, a sound part; an older form used 朿.

Open 迹 →

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