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上手 (shàng shǒu) — (noun) seat of honor; left-hand seat (in a seating arrangement); (noun) predecessor; superior; next player in a turn-based game

Definition

上手 names a position or person one step 'above' in a hierarchy or sequence: the left-hand seat of honor at a table, or the next player whose turn is coming up. Note this is a noun — not the verb-adjective use meaning 'to get the hang of' (熟悉).

noun
seat of honorleft-hand seat (in a seating arrangement)predecessorsuperiornext player in a turn-based game

Examples

  • 上手。
    Tā zuò zài shàng shǒu de wèi zhì.
    He sits in the seat of honor.
  • 上手。
    shàng shǒu Shì gōng sī de qián rèn jīng lǐ.
    The predecessor is the company's former manager.
  • 上手。
    Lún dào shàng shǒu le.
    It's the next player's turn.

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.

上shàngupper
手shǒuhand

上 (upper) and 手 (hand) point to the upper side or skilled person, hence a superior or expert.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

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
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