打手势 (dǎ shǒu shì) — to gesture; to make a gesture; to motion

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning 'to make a hand gesture / to signal with the hands' — the gesture is the object of 打, so it can be split (打了一个手势) or reduced (别乱打手势).

verb
to gestureto make a gestureto motion

Examples

  • 打手势，。
    Tā xiàng wǒ dǎ shǒu shì, ràng wǒ guò qù.
    He gestured to me to come over.
  • 打手势，。
    Tā dǎ le yí gè dǎ shǒu shì, biǎo shì tóng yì.
    He made a gesture to show agreement.
  • 打手势，。
    Nǐ bié luàn dǎ shǒu shì, bié rén kàn bù dǒng.
    Don't gesture randomly — others won't understand.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

打dǎmake
手势gesture
手shǒuhand势shìsign
偏正Modifier + head

“打” make and “手势” hand signs combine to mean gesturing.

Characters in this word

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

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 勢; 势 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìpower
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì勢shì
Same sound today

The traditional form 勢 combines 力, meaning power, with 埶 for the sound. The simplified 势 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 势 →

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