• hand;

It can also refer to skill, method, or person (as in an agent or performer of an action).

Etymology

It is a pictograph that was formed by imitating the shape of a hand.

Usage in Korean

手 is the principal radical for the concept of the hand.

When used as a radical, it often takes the variant form and is written on the left side of a character.

Characters with the 手/ radical typically carry meanings related to:

• handcraft, dexterity, skill,

• manual action, method, means,

• or a person performing an action.

Similar shape characters

If enlarged, resembles 才 (meaning “talent” or “ability”), which is also classified under the 手 radical.

However, 才 and have different origins despite their similar shapes, so is sometimes called “jaebangbyeon” (재방변), meaning “talent-side radical.”

A similar case exists with the (meat) radical, which appears as (moon) when used as a component, and is then called “육달월” (meat-moon-shape).

Characters with

son
su
Kangxi radical:64
Strokes:4
Unicode:U+624B
Cangjie input:
  • 手 (Q)
Composition:
  • ⿻ 𠂌 一
Writing order
手 Writing order

Neighboring radicals in the dictionary

References

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