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做手脚 (zuò shǒu jiǎo) — to secretly tamper with, to rig (e.g., an election, contract, test)

Definition

Means to secretly tamper with or rig something (an exam, election, contract) so the outcome is unfair. Always implies cheating or fraud done behind the scenes.

verb
to secretly tamper withto rig (e.g., an election, contract, test)

Examples

  • 做手脚。
    Dāng xīn tā zài hé tong shàng zuò shǒu jiǎo.
    Beware of him tampering with the contract.
  • 。
    Zhè cì kǎo shì yǒu rén zuò le shǒu jiǎo.
    Someone rigged this exam.
  • ，做手脚。
    Bié xiāng xìn tā, tā jīng cháng zài bǐ sài zhōng zuò shǒu jiǎo.
    Don't trust him; he often rigs competitions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

做zuòdo
手脚tricks
手shǒuhand脚jiǎofoot
联合Coordinate

做 means do, and 手脚 means hands and feet, suggesting secret tricks; together it means to tamper quietly.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 做 →

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 →

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 腳; 脚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat, body
Sound part声符shēngfú
卻
卻què腳jiǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 腳 uses ⺼ for a body part and 卻 for the sound; the simplified 脚 is a later shorthand.

Open 脚 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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