Chinese word

手掌

Pronunciation

Pinyinshǒu zhǎng

Meaning

  • nounpalm

Example

她把钱放在手掌里。tā bǎ qián fàng zài shóu zhǎng lǐ

She put the money in her palm.

Illustration for 手掌 (palm)

More examples

他伸出手掌示意对方停下。tā shēn chū shóu zhǎng shì yì duì fāng tíng xià

He held out his palm to signal to the other person to stop.

Core concept

The hand's open inner platform, stretching from the wrist to the bases of the fingers.

Common phrases

  • 伸出手掌shēn chū shóu zhǎng

    hold out the palm

  • 握住手掌wò zhù shóu zhǎng

    grasp the palm

Similar words

手心shǒu xīn: The soft middle part of the palm, where objects can rest or touch can be felt.
掌心zhǎng xīn: The central area on the inside of the hand that receives or supports objects.
掌zhǎng: The flat inside surface of the hand, especially as a place for holding things.

Definition in Chinese

手掌是手的内侧扁平部分，从腕到指根，主要用于抓握、支撑和感受触觉。shóu zhǎng shì shǒu de nèi cè biǎn píng bù fèn cóng wàn dào zhǐ gēn zhǔ yào yòng yú zhuā wò zhī chēng hé gǎn shòu chù jué

Word origin

手掌 (shǒuzhǎng, "palm") is formed from 手 (shǒu, "hand") + 掌 (zhǎng, "palm"), pairing the whole hand with the part that faces inward.

Usage tips

  • The palm is a familiar everyday size reference in Chinese, so this noun can describe an object that fits within one palm as well as name the body part.

Opposites

Related words

  • 手掌心shóu zhǎng xīnpalm centernoun
  • 手掌印shǒu zhǎng yìnpalm printnoun

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