拿手戏 (ná shǒu hū) — one's strong suit, one's specialty, something one is very good at

Definition

A colloquial expression for something you do very well — your signature dish, act, or skill. Pairs with 是…的 to highlight the skill, as in 做红烧肉是他的拿手戏.

noun
one's strong suitone's specialtysomething one is very good at

Examples

  • 拿手戏。
    Zuò hóng shāo ròu shì tā de ná shǒu hū.
    Making braised pork is his specialty.
  • 拿手戏，。
    Chàng gē bú shì wǒ de ná shǒu hū, wǒ gèng xǐ huan tiào wǔ.
    Singing is not my strong suit; I prefer dancing.
  • 拿手戏。
    Zhè dào cài shì zhè jiā cān tīng de ná shǒu hū.
    This dish is the restaurant's specialty.

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.

拿手handy; skillful
拿nátake; hold手shǒuhand
动宾Verb + object
戏xìplay

拿手 means handy or skillful, and 戏 means a play, so 拿手戏 is a play one is skillful at.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 拿 pairs 合 with 手, and it is a later alternative form for taking with the hand.

Open 拿 →

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 戲; 戏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gēhalberd
Sound part声符shēngfú
䖒
䖒䖒戲xì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 戲, the shape combines 戈 (halberd) with 䖒, which gives the sound; the word originally meant an army's wing or flank. The simplified 戏 is a later shorthand, not the form described here.

Open 戏 →

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