手 (shǒu) is a Chinese character meaning “hand”. It is written from ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇚ (vertical stroke with hook), and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “hand”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇒ + ㇐ + ㇐ + ㇚
Overlapping structure
- ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇚ vertical stroke with hook unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+624B and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 撇 / 横 / 横 / 竖钩)
Memory aid
A flat left-falling stroke (㇒) lies across the top like a thumb. Under it a short horizontal (㇐), then a long horizontal (㇐) spread out like fingers, and one vertical with a hook (㇚) drops through them — the wrist that holds the hand together.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 手机shǒu jīmobile phone; cellphone手 = shǒu
- 右手yòu shǒuright hand手 = shǒu
- 伸手shēn shǒuto stretch out one's hand; to reach out手 = shǒu
- 凶手xiōng shǒumurderer; killer手 = shǒu
- 助手zhù shǒuassistant; helper手 = shǒu
- 双手shuāng shǒuboth hands手 = shǒuHSK 3
- 手册shǒu cèhandbook; manual手 = shǒu
- 手印shǒu yìnhandprint; fingerprint手 = shǒu
- 手帕shǒu pàhandkerchief手 = shǒu
- 手拉手shǒu lā shǒuhand in hand手 = shǒu
- 手术shǒu shùsurgery; surgical operation手 = shǒuHSK 5
- 手杖shǒu zhàngwalking stick; cane手 = shǒu
- 手枪shǒu qiāngpistol; handgun手 = shǒu
- 手肘shǒu zhǒuelbow手 = shǒuspoken asshóu zhǒu
- 手艺shǒu yìhandicraft skill; craftsmanship手 = shǒu
- 扒手pá shǒupickpocket手 = shǒu
- 扳手bān shǒuwrench; spanner手 = shǒu
- 扶手fú shǒuhandrail; armrest; banister手 = shǒu
- 拍手pāi shǒuto clap one's hands; to applaud手 = shǒu
- 招手zhāo shǒuto wave one's hand; to beckon手 = shǒu
- 手套shǒu tàogloves手 = shǒu
- 手指shǒu zhǐfinger手 = shǒuspoken asshóu zhǐ
- 手绢shǒu juànhandkerchief手 = shǒu
- 手铐shǒu kàohandcuffs手 = shǒu
- 拱手gǒng shǒuto cup one hand in the other before the chest (a salute)手 = shǒuspoken asgóng shǒu
- 拿手ná shǒuto be good at; one's specialty手 = shǒu
- 挥手huī shǒuto wave one's hand; to wave (goodbye)手 = shǒu
- 握手wò shǒuto shake hands手 = shǒu
- 搓手cuō shǒuto rub one's hands together手 = shǒu
- 洗手xǐ shǒuto wash one's hands手 = shǒuspoken asxí shǒu
- 牵手qiān shǒuto hold hands手 = shǒu
- 舵手duò shǒuhelmsman; steersman手 = shǒu
Go deeper
All readings
hand
hand; by hand; a person skilled at something (as in 歌手, singer)
人体上肢前端拿东西的部分；也指擅长某种技能的人。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 手机shǒu jīmobile phone; cellphone手 = shǒu
- 右手yòu shǒuright hand手 = shǒu
- 伸手shēn shǒuto stretch out one's hand; to reach out手 = shǒu
- 凶手xiōng shǒumurderer; killer手 = shǒu
- 助手zhù shǒuassistant; helper手 = shǒu
- 双手shuāng shǒuboth hands手 = shǒuHSK 3
- 手册shǒu cèhandbook; manual手 = shǒu
- 手印shǒu yìnhandprint; fingerprint手 = shǒu
- 手帕shǒu pàhandkerchief手 = shǒu
- 手拉手shǒu lā shǒuhand in hand手 = shǒu
- 手术shǒu shùsurgery; surgical operation手 = shǒuHSK 5
- 手杖shǒu zhàngwalking stick; cane手 = shǒu
- 手枪shǒu qiāngpistol; handgun手 = shǒu
- 手肘shǒu zhǒuelbow手 = shǒuspoken asshóu zhǒu
- 手艺shǒu yìhandicraft skill; craftsmanship手 = shǒu
- 扒手pá shǒupickpocket手 = shǒu
- 扳手bān shǒuwrench; spanner手 = shǒu
- 扶手fú shǒuhandrail; armrest; banister手 = shǒu
- 拍手pāi shǒuto clap one's hands; to applaud手 = shǒu
- 招手zhāo shǒuto wave one's hand; to beckon手 = shǒu
- 手套shǒu tàogloves手 = shǒu
- 手指shǒu zhǐfinger手 = shǒuspoken asshóu zhǐ
- 手绢shǒu juànhandkerchief手 = shǒu
- 手铐shǒu kàohandcuffs手 = shǒu
- 拱手gǒng shǒuto cup one hand in the other before the chest (a salute)手 = shǒuspoken asgóng shǒu
- 拿手ná shǒuto be good at; one's specialty手 = shǒu
- 挥手huī shǒuto wave one's hand; to wave (goodbye)手 = shǒu
- 握手wò shǒuto shake hands手 = shǒu
- 搓手cuō shǒuto rub one's hands together手 = shǒu
- 洗手xǐ shǒuto wash one's hands手 = shǒuspoken asxí shǒu
- 牵手qiān shǒuto hold hands手 = shǒu
- 舵手duò shǒuhelmsman; steersman手 = shǒu
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 手 mean?
手 (shǒu) means hand; by hand; a person skilled at something (as in 歌手, singer).
How do you pronounce 手?
It is pronounced shǒu.
What parts is 手 made of?
㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇚ (vertical stroke with hook). The recorded source is: Unicode U+624B and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 撇 / 横 / 横 / 竖钩). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 手 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 手?
手. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 手?
Common ones are 手机 and 右手. The reading of 手 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.