手记 (shǒu jì) — to write down notes by hand; to jot down (personal notes, observations)

Definition

A verb meaning to write or jot something down by hand, usually for personal notes or observations. Compared with the more common 记 (jì) or 记录, 手记 emphasizes that the writing is done by hand rather than typed.

verb
to write down notes by handto jot down (personal notes, observations)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 手记。
    Tā xǐ huan zài lǚ xíng shí yòng bǐ jì běn shǒu jì.
    He likes to jot down notes in a notebook while traveling.
  • 手记。
    Wǒ měi tiān dōu huì shǒu jì dāng tiān de gǎn shòu.
    I write down my feelings for the day every day.
  • 手记。
    Tā yì biān tīng kè yì biān shǒu jì zhòng diǎn.
    She jots down key points while listening to the lecture.

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
记jìrecord

手 (hand) and 记 (record) give the idea of recording by hand.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 記; 记 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ記jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 記 pairs 言 (speech; words) with 己 as a sound part; the simplified 记 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 记 →

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