手快 (shǒu kuài) — quick with one's hands; dexterous; to be quick to seize an opportunity (as in 手快有，手慢无)

Definition

A colloquial way to say someone is quick and skilled with their hands — faster than the average person at manual tasks. Also used figuratively to mean 'first to act' (as in 手快有，手慢无: the quick get it, the slow miss out).

verb
quick with one's handsdexterousto be quick to seize an opportunity (as in 手快有，手慢无)

Examples

  • 手快，。
    Tā shǒu kuài, jǐ xià jiù bǎ líng jiàn zhuāng hǎo le.
    He is quick with his hands and assembled the parts in just a few moves.
  • 手快，，！
    shǒu kuài Yǒu, shǒu màn wú, gǎn jǐn xià dān ba!
    The quick get it, the slow miss out — hurry up and place your order!
  • 手快，。
    Tā zuò shì shǒu kuài, xiào lǜ tè bié gāo.
    She does things quickly and efficiently.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

手shǒuhand
快kuàiquick

“手” names hand and “快” says quick, meaning quick with the hands.

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
夬
夬guài快kuài
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

快 pairs the left part 忄 (full form 心, the heart) with the right part 夬, which gives the sound.

Open 快 →

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