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手足 (shǒu zú) — (literal) hand and foot; (figurative) brotherhood, brothers; (formal) movement, action (of the limbs)

Definition

Literally 'hands and feet' (limbs / bodily movement), but figuratively means 'brothers' — i.e. close as family. In set phrases like 手足无措 it keeps the literal body-image sense.

noun
(literal) hand and foot(figurative) brotherhoodbrothers(formal) movementaction (of the limbs)

Examples

  • ，。
    Wǒ men liǎ qíng tóng shǒu zú, yǒng yuǎn shì hǎo péng you.
    We two are as close as brothers, forever good friends.
  • ，手足。
    Tiān qì tài lěng, wǒ de shǒu zú dōu dòng jiāng le.
    It's so cold that my hands and feet are both frozen stiff.
  • ，，。
    Tīng dào zhè ge huài xiāo xi, tā shǒu zú wú cuò, bù zhī zěn me bàn.
    Upon hearing the bad news, he was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

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
足zúfoot

手 and 足 name two limbs, so 手足 can mean hands and feet or brothers.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

足 was originally drawn as a leg.

Open 足 →
Appears in
Body PartsFamily & Kinship

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