手 （shǒu：hand）

手 is a pictograph. The ancient form of手 looks like a hand with five fingers. As a radical, 手 is often placed on the left side of a compound, where it’s written as 扌. It can also appear on the bottom of a radical. The手 radical indicates that the character is about something related to hands, such as 掌（zhǎng; palm）or actions done by hands 打（dǎ；to hit） and 拿（ná；to fetch or to hold）. Hands also have connotations of “useful” and “capable”. A person who can do a lot of things with their hands is competent. Therefore, another meaning of手 is a person who is good at a certain profession. For example, 歌手 (gē shǒu; song hand）means singer.