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老手 (lǎo shǒu) — veteran; experienced person in a field

Definition

老手 means 'old hand / veteran' — someone with years of practical experience in a field, not just book knowledge. Often contrasted with 新手 ('newcomer, beginner').

noun
veteranexperienced person in a field
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 老手。
    Tā shì zhè ge háng yè de yí wèi lǎo shǒu.
    He is a veteran in this industry.
  • ，老手。
    Jià shǐ zhè zhǒng dà xíng jī qì, zhǐ yǒu lǎo shǒu cái néng ān quán cāo zuò.
    Only a veteran can safely operate this kind of large machine.
  • ，老手。
    Suī rán nián jì bú dà, tā yǐ jīng shì yì míng qiú chǎng lǎo shǒu le.
    Although he is not old, he is already a veteran on the court.

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.

老lǎoexperienced
手shǒuperson

老 gives experience and 手 gives the person, so it means a veteran.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

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 →
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