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手边 (shǒu biān) — at hand, within reach, nearby

Definition

Literally 'at the side of one's hand', 手边 means something is within easy reach. Used for things physically nearby or immediately available, not for a general location (that would be 旁边/附近).

noun
at handwithin reachnearby

Examples

  • 手边。
    Wǒ bǎ shǒu jī fàng zài shǒu biān.
    I put my phone at hand.
  • 手边。
    Tā shǒu biān méi yǒu dài qián.
    He didn't bring money with him.
  • 手边，。
    Qǐng bǎ zī liào fàng zài shǒu biān, fāng biàn chá yuè.
    Please put the materials at hand for easy reference.

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
边biānside

手 'hand' locates the 边 'side', giving the sense close to one's 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 邊; 边 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalking; movement
Sound part声符shēngfú
臱
臱mián邊biān(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 邊 pairs 辶 (walking; movement) with the sound part 臱; the simplified 边 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 边 →
Appears in
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