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手腕 (shǒu wàn) — (anatomy) wrist; (figurative) skill, finesse, trickery; ability to maneuver

Definition

Literally the wrist, but figuratively it means tact, trickery, or skill in handling people — a knack for maneuvering, often with a slightly negative tone (e.g. 耍手腕). 技巧 is a neutral 'skill/technique' for a specific activity.

noun
(anatomy) wrist(figurative) skillfinessetrickeryability to maneuver
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 手腕，。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le wǒ de shǒu wàn, shuō méi yǒu gǔ zhé.
    The doctor examined my wrist and said there was no fracture.
  • 手腕，。
    Píng jiè chū sè de wài jiāo shǒu wàn, liǎng guó guān xì dé dào gǎi shàn.
    Thanks to outstanding diplomatic skill, the relations between the two countries improved.
  • 手腕，。
    Zuò shēng yi bù néng zǒng shì shuǎ shǒu wàn, chéng xìn zuì zhòng yào.
    When doing business, you can't always play tricks; honesty is most important.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

手shǒuhand
腕wànwrist

The body parts 手 and 腕 stand side by side, and the whole word names the wrist.

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat, body part
Sound part声符shēngfú
宛
宛wǎn腕wàn
Same sound today

腕 pairs ⺼ (meat/body part) with 宛, which gives the sound; the ⺼ part marks it as a body part.

Open 腕 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Body Parts

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