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着手 (zhuó shǒu) — to begin, to set about, to start work on (a task)

Definition

着手 is a formal verb meaning 'to set about, to start work on' a task or project. Use it for planned, organized beginnings — stronger than the everyday 开始, and more task-focused than 动手 (which can also mean to hit).

verb
to beginto set aboutto start work on (a task)

Examples

  • 着手。
    Tā men dǎ suàn cóng diào chá zhuó shǒu jiě jué zhè ge wèn tí.
    They plan to start by investigating this problem.
  • 着手。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù yǐ jīng zhǔn bèi zhuó shǒu le.
    This project is ready to start.
  • 着手？
    Wǒ men yīng gāi cóng nǎ lǐ zhuó shǒu ne?
    Where should we start?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

着zheput to
手shǒuhand

着 suggests putting to and 手 gives hand, so the sense is starting work by getting one's hands on it.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě著zháo
Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 is a later shorthand.

Open 着 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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