手相 (shǒu xiāng) — palm lines; palm features (in palmistry); palmistry

Definition

手相 refers to the lines and features on a person's palm used in the fortune-telling practice of palmistry. It is the OBJECT being read (your palm), distinct from 看手相, the act of reading it.

noun
palm linespalm features (in palmistry)palmistry

Examples

  • 手相。
    Tā xǐ huan gěi bié rén kàn shǒu xiāng.
    She likes to read people's palms.
  • 手相。
    Suàn mìng xiān sheng shuō wǒ de shǒu xiāng hěn hǎo.
    The fortune-teller said my palm lines are very good.
  • ？
    Nǐ xué guò shǒu xiāng ma?
    Have you studied palmistry?

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
相xiāngfeatures

手 and 相 combine hand features, referring to palm lines or palmistry.

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 →

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

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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