Meaning
手腕 literally means 'hand bowl' and primarily refers to the wrist joint connecting the hand to the forearm. It also has an extended figurative meaning referring to tactfulness, skill, or clever methods in handling interpersonal situations or achieving goals.
Usage
In everyday conversation, 手腕 most commonly refers to the physical wrist, especially in medical, sports, or injury contexts. The figurative sense—meaning political savvy, tactics, or manipulative skill—appears in more sophisticated discourse and often carries a slightly neutral to negative connotation, implying cleverness that may border on cunning.
Examples
- 01打网球的时候我扭伤了手腕。.I sprained my wrist while playing tennis.
- 02他很有手腕，总能把复杂的问题处理好。, .He's very tactful and can always handle complex problems well.
Characters
Measure words
- 只一只手腕
- 个一个手腕
Common collocations
- 手腕骨折wrist fracture
- 扭伤手腕to sprain one's wrist
- 有手腕to have tact/skill (figurative)
- 手腕灵活flexible wrist; skillful tactics
Origin
腕 originally referred to the forearm or wrist area in classical Chinese. Combined with 手 (hand), the compound naturally denotes the wrist joint. The metaphorical extension to 'tact' or 'skill' likely arose from the idea that skillful hand movements require wrist flexibility.