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手巾 (shǒu jīn) — towel; handkerchief

Definition

A general word for a cloth for wiping — covers both 'towel' (bath/shower) and 'handkerchief' (face, sweat). Less common in modern speech than 毛巾 or 手绢, but still understood.

noun
towelhandkerchief
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 手巾。
    Wǒ yòng shǒu jīn cā liǎn.
    I wipe my face with a towel.
  • 。
    Tā ná shǒu jīn cā le cā hàn.
    He took a handkerchief and wiped sweat.
  • 手巾。
    Tā bǎ yì tiáo shǒu jīn fàng zài zhuō zi shàng.
    She put a towel on the table.

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.

手shǒuhand
巾jīncloth

The 手 and 巾 combine as hand + cloth to name a towel or handkerchief.

Characters in this word

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 巾 is a picture of a piece of cloth hanging down.

Open 巾 →
Appears in
Hygiene & Grooming

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