掌心 (zhǎng xīn) — hollow of the palm; (figurative) control, influ… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'palm center' (the hollow of the hand). In figurative use, 之中 ('in one's palm') means being under someone's total control.

noun

hollow of the palm(figurative) controlinfluence

Examples

掌心。
Tā bǎ yìng bì fàng zài zhǎng xīn lǐ.
He put the coin in the hollow of his palm.
掌心。
Zhè jiàn shì wán quán zài tā de zhǎng xīn zhī zhōng.
This matter is completely under his control.
掌心。
Tā cóng zhǎng xīn lǐ dào chū jǐ lì yào.
He poured a few pills from his palm.

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.

掌 means palm, and 心 refers to the center or hollow, giving the center of the palm.

Characters in this word

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

尚shàng掌zhǎng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

It combines 手, meaning hand, with 尚, which gives it a sound close to shàng.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Appears in

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