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随手 (suí shǒu) — conveniently; without extra trouble (doing something as a small extra task while occupied with something else)

Definition

随手 means doing something small and convenient while you're already doing something else, with no extra trip. It pairs more naturally with 顺手 (handling a tool easily) than with 顺便 (mentioning or doing a favor in passing).

adverb
convenientlywithout extra trouble (doing something as a small extra task while occupied with something else)

Examples

  • 随手。
    Nǐ chū mén de shí hou suí shǒu dài yì bǎ sǎn.
    When you go out, conveniently bring an umbrella.
  • 随手。
    Tā suí shǒu mǎi le liǎng píng shuǐ huí lái.
    He bought two bottles of water on the way back.
  • 随手，。
    Qǐng suí shǒu bǎ mén guān shàng, xiè xie.
    Please close the door on your way out, thanks.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

随suífollow
手shǒuhand

随 gives following, and 手 gives hand, so the whole means doing something conveniently while occupied.

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 隨; 随 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalking
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡐦
𡐦𡐦隨suí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隨 pairs 辵 (walking) with 𡐦 (the sound part); the simplified 随 is a later shorthand.

Open 随 →

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 5HSK 2.0 Level 6

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