HSK 6 · Verbs

动手 dòngshǒu “to start work” in Chinese

Traditional 動手

What 动手 means

  1. to start work
  2. to touch
  3. to hit
  4. to set about (a task)
  5. to raise a hand to hit sb
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • to handle (typically used in cautioning sb *not* to touch sth)

How to say 动手

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale动dòng4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale手shǒu3rd tone, dipping

动手 in a sentence

  1. 自己动手真好。

    Zìjǐ dòngshǒu zhēn hǎo.

    It’s good to do things yourself.

    Sentence #332426 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 你是动手能力强的人吗？

    Nǐ shì dòngshǒu nénglì qiáng de rén ma?

    Are you good with your hands?

    Sentence #8744705 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 汤姆善于动手。

    Tāngmǔ shànyú dòngshǒu.

    Tom is good with his hands.

    Sentence #5585224 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 动手 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 动 (dòng) with each of its parts in a different colour
动dòngto move
  • 云cloud · yún
  • 力strength · lìMeaning part

Memory aidStrength 力 makes things move. In the full form 動, 重 (zhòng) gave the sound.

The character 手 (shǒu) drawn as one shape
手shǒuhand

手 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidDrawn from a hand with its fingers spread. On the left of a character it is written 扌.

How to write 动手

动 6 strokes · 手 4 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

动手 (dòngshǒu) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 动手 (dòngshǒu). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 动手

Words with 动

动dòng · to move运动yùndòng · to exercise动物dòngwù · animal动物园dòngwùyuán · zoo运动员yùndòngyuán · athlete运动会yùndònghuì · sports meet活动huódòng · activity感动gǎndòng · to be moved激动jīdòng · excited动作dòngzuò · movement

Words with 手

手shǒu · hand手表shǒubiǎo · watch手机shǒujī · mobile phone洗手间xǐshǒujiān · toilet分手fēnshǒu · to break up手术shǒushù · (surgical) operation手指shǒuzhǐ · finger手套shǒutào · glove对手duìshǒu · opponent握手wòshǒu · to shake hands

More words: Common Verbs

叼diāo · to hold in the mouth跌diē · to fall抵抗dǐkàng · to resist盯dīng · to stare at东张西望dōngzhāngxīwàng · to look around in all directions端duān · to carry (level with both hands)断绝duànjué · to break off对付duìfu · to deal with

FAQs

动手 (dòngshǒu) means “to start work” or “to touch”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it dòngshǒu: dòng with a 4th tone, then shǒu with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 动手 is written 動手. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type dongshou with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 动手 from the suggestions. Typing dongshou into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
动手 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.