留一手 (liú yī shǒu) — to hold back a trick or two (in teaching a trade or skill)

Definition

To deliberately keep a skill or trick from someone you are teaching, usually to stay one step ahead. Common in apprenticeship and craft contexts.

verb
to hold back a trick or two (in teaching a trade or skill)

Examples

  • 留一手，。
    Shī fu jiào tú dì shí zǒng shì liú yī shǒu, pà tú dì chāo guò zì jǐ.
    The master always holds back a trick or two when teaching apprentices, afraid they'll surpass him.
  • ，。
    Tā xué shǒu yì de shí hou, lǎo shī fu gěi tā liú le yì shǒu.
    When he was learning the craft, the old master held back a trick from him.
  • 留一手，。
    Bié liú yī shǒu le, bǎ nǐ zhī dào de dōu jiāo gěi wǒ men ba.
    Don't hold back — teach us everything you know.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

留liúkeep back
一手one trick
一yīone手shǒutrick
偏正Modifier + head

留 keep back and 一手 one trick combine for holding back a trick.

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
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
卯
卯mǎo留liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

留 combines 田 (field) with 卯, which gives the sound.

Open 留 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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 →

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