Chinese word

二手

Pronunciation

Pinyinèr shǒu

Meaning

  • adjectivesecondhand

Example

这台手机是二手，但很新。zhè tái shǒu jī shì èr shǒu dàn hěn xīn

This phone is secondhand, but very new.

Illustration for 二手 (secondhand)

More examples

这套二手家具保存得很好。zhè tào èr shǒu jiā jù bǎo cún de hěn hǎo

This set of secondhand furniture is very well preserved.

Core concept

A usable object with a past life in someone else's possession.

Common phrases

  • 二手车èr shǒu chē

    secondhand car

  • 二手手机èr shóu shǒu jī

    secondhand phone

  • 二手家具èr shǒu jiā jù

    secondhand furniture

Similar words

用过的yòng guò de: Not new because someone has used it before.
旧jiù: Having become old in appearance or performance over time.

Definition in Chinese

用于说明物品不是全新，而是别人曾经使用过，通常仍能使用或再出售，多见于个人交易场景。yòng yú shuō míng wù pǐn bú shì quán xīn ér shì bié rén céng jīng shǐ yòng guò tōng cháng réng néng shǐ yòng huò zài chū shòu duō jiàn yú gè rén jiāo yì cháng jǐng

Word origin

二 (èr, "two") + 手 (shǒu, "hand") suggests a second pair of hands, linking the compound to goods that have changed owners.

Usage tips

  • This word does not by itself mean cheap or poor quality, so a newer used phone can still be described this way.

Other meanings

  • used itemnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 二手车èr shǒu chēused carnoun
  • 二手房èr shǒu fángsecondhand homenoun
  • 二手货èr shǒu huòused goodsnoun

Word lists with this word