手指 (shǒu zhǐ) — finger | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

手指 (shǒuzhǐ) means 'finger' as a body part — the whole finger from base to tip. It pairs naturally with 手掌 (palm, the inner surface) and includes the 拇指 (thumb).

noun

finger

Measure word · 个, 只

Examples

，手指。
Dōng tiān de shí hou, wǒ de shǒu zhǐ hěn lěng.
In winter, my fingers are very cold.
手指，。
Tā shù le shù zì jǐ de shǒu zhǐ, yí gòng shí gè.
He counted his fingers — ten in total.
手指。
Tā yòng shǒu zhǐ zài shǒu jī shàng dǎ zì.
She types on her phone with her fingers.

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.

The idea of 手 paired with 指 gives a finger of the hand, i.e. a finger.

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.

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

扌旨指

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

旨

旨zhǐ指zhǐ

Same sound today

The left part 扌 is the hand form 手. The right part 旨 gives the sound.

Appears in

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