解手 (jiě shǒu) — to relieve oneself; to go to the toilet (euphemistic)

Definition

A polite euphemism for using the toilet, often heard on buses or in travel contexts. It is a verb-object phrase (离合词): a measure word can split the two characters, as in 解一次手.

verb
to relieve oneselfto go to the toilet (euphemistic)

Examples

  • ，解手。
    Děng yí xià, wǒ xiān qù jiě shǒu.
    Wait a moment, I need to go to the toilet first.
  • 。
    Tā zài lù shang jiě le yí cì shǒu cái jì xù gǎn lù.
    He relieved himself once on the road before continuing his journey.
  • 解手。
    Cháng tú dà bā zhōng tú huì tíng chē ràng dà jiā jiě shǒu.
    The long-distance bus will stop midway to let everyone use the toilet.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

解jiěloosen
手shǒuhand

解 means loosen and 手 means hand; the old image of untying hands became a euphemism for relieving oneself.

Characters in this word

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

解 shows 刀 (knife) separating 角 (horn) from 牛 (cow), giving the picture of cutting up an ox.

Open 解 →

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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