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两手 (liǎng shǒu) — one's two hands; both aspects or eventualities (figurative); skill or expertise (figurative)

Definition

Figurative 两手 means skill or expertise, or "preparing for both sides/eventualities" (两手准备). In its figurative sense of skill it overlaps with 一手 (more common in 有一手) and 技巧 (technique/knack for a specific activity).

noun
one's two handsboth aspects or eventualities (figurative)skill or expertise (figurative)

Examples

  • 两手。
    Tā liǎng shǒu dōu ná zhe xíng li.
    He is carrying luggage in both hands.
  • 两手。
    Zuò zhè ge xiàng mù yào zuò hǎo liǎng shǒu zhǔn bèi.
    To do this project, you need to be prepared for both eventualities.
  • 两手，。
    Tā zuò fàn yǒu liǎng shǒu, dà jiā dōu ài chī.
    She has skill in cooking; everyone loves to eat.

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.

两liǎngtwo
手shǒuhand

两 means two and 手 means hands, so it names two hands and, figuratively, two sides or skills.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 兩; 两 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 兩 is described as combining 一 and 㒳. The simplified 两 is a later abbreviation.

Open 两 →

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 7-9

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