Chinese word

指

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhǐ

Meaning

  • nounfinger

Example

她的手指受伤了。tā de shóu zhǐ shòu shāng le

Her finger is injured.

Illustration for 指 (finger)

More examples

他用手指比划着说明方向。tā yòng shóu zhǐ bǐ huà zhe shuō míng fāng xiàng

He gestured with his fingers while explaining the direction.

Core concept

Something that singles out a target: a finger does it physically, while speech does it by directing attention to an idea or object.

Common phrases

  • 手指shóu zhǐ

    finger

  • 指甲zhí jiǎ

    fingernail

  • 食指shí zhǐ

    index finger

Similar words

手shǒu: The body part at the end of the arm used for holding and handling things.
手指shóu zhǐ: The fingers of the hand considered together as a group.
指头zhǐ tou: A casual term for a fingertip or the area around it.

Definition in Chinese

用手或语言指出方向、对象或意见；也可指手的各个细长部分（如拇指、食指等），用于触摸和操作。yòng shǒu huò yǔ yán zhǐ chū fāng xiàng duì xiàng huò yì jiàn yě kě zhǐ shǒu de gè gè xì cháng bù fèn rú mú zhǐ shí zhǐ děng yòng yú chù mō hé cāo zuò

Word origin

指 (zhǐ, "finger; point") is a phono-semantic form made from 扌 (shǒu, "hand") + 旨 (zhǐ, "sound marker"), linking the word to a hand action while 旨 mainly supplies the pronunciation.

Usage tips

  • English often separates physical pointing from indicating an idea, while everyday Chinese uses one common word across both situations.

Other meanings

  • pointverb
  • indicateverb

Related words

Word lists with this word