摩拳擦掌 (mó quán cā zhǎng) — (idiom) to be eager and ready for action; to roll up one's sleeves

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'eager to fight or get to work' — literally 'rubbing fists, wiping palms,' picturing someone gearing up for action.

idiom
to be eager and ready for actionto roll up one's sleeves

Examples

  • ，摩拳擦掌。
    Bǐ sài hái méi kāi shǐ, xuǎn shǒu men jiù yǐ jīng mó quán cā zhǎng le.
    The competition hadn't even started, but the contestants were already raring to go.
  • ，摩拳擦掌。
    Tīng dào yào jiā bān de xiāo xi, dà jiā dōu mó quán cā zhǎng zhǔn bèi dà gàn yì chǎng.
    Upon hearing about the overtime work, everyone was rolling up their sleeves to get stuck in.
  • 摩拳擦掌，。
    Zhàn shì men mó quán cā zhǎng, zhī děng yì shēng lìng xià.
    The soldiers were eager for action, just waiting for the order.

Origin

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
麻
麻má摩mó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

摩 combines 手 (hand) with 麻; the hand part relates to the meaning, and 麻 gives the sound.

Open 摩 →

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
龹
龹龹拳quán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拳 pairs 手 (hand) with 龹 for sound. The hand part shows that the meaning is a form of hand, such as a fist.

Open 拳 →

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
察
察chá擦cā
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 is the hand, showing that 擦 is an action done with the hand, such as wiping or scrubbing; the right part 察 gives the sound.

Open 擦 →

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
手手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng掌zhǎng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

It combines 手, meaning hand, with 尚, which gives it a sound close to shàng.

Open 掌 →

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