Chinese word

伸手

Pronunciation

Pinyinshēn shǒu

Meaning

  • verbreach out

Example

他从沙发上伸手拿起遥控器。tā cóng shā fā shàng shēn shǒu ná qǐ yáo kòng qì

He reached out from the sofa and picked up the remote control.

Illustration for 伸手 (reach out)

More examples

她把钥匙递给他，他伸手接过。tā bǎ yào shi dì gěi tā tā shēn shǒu jiē guò

She handed him the key, and he reached out and took it.

Core concept

A hand moves beyond its resting position to connect with something, obtain it, or show an intention.

Common phrases

  • 伸手拿起shēn shǒu ná qǐ

    reach out and pick up

  • 伸手接过shēn shǒu jiē guò

    reach out and take

  • 伸手示意shēn shǒu shì yì

    reach out to signal

Similar words

接jiē: Receive an item by taking it in the hand when someone hands it over.
拿ná: Grasp something with the hand and hold it.
取qǔ: Obtain or take something into one's possession.
递dì: Pass an item from one person's hand to another.

Definition in Chinese

把手臂向外或向前延长以接触、取得或示意他物的动作bǎ shǒu bì xiàng wài huò xiàng qián yán cháng yǐ jiē chù qǔ dé huò shì yì tā wù de dòng zuò

Word origin

The compound 伸手 (shēnshǒu, "reach out") joins 伸 (shēn, "extend") and 手 (shǒu, "hand"), directly naming an extended hand.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, this verb keeps a physical body-part image, so emotional or social contact is not normally understood without supporting context.

Opposites

  • 收手shōu shǒuwithdrawverb

Related words

  • 伸手党shēn shǒu dǎnghandout seekernoun
  • 伸手不见五指shēn shǒu bú jiàn wú zhǐpitch-darkidiom

Word lists with this word