下手
xià shǒu
Pinyin

Definition

下手
 - 
xià shǒu
  1. to start
  2. to put one's hand to
  3. to set about
  4. the seat to the right of the main guest

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

yī xià
  1. 1 (used after a verb) give it a go
  2. 2 to do (sth for a bit to give it a try)
  3. 3 one time
  4. 4 once
  5. 5 in a while
  6. 6 all of a sudden
  7. 7 all at once
xià
  1. 1 down
  2. 2 downwards
  3. 3 below
  4. 4 lower
  5. 5 later
  6. 6 next (week etc)
  7. 7 second (of two parts)
  8. 8 to decline
  9. 9 to go down
  10. 10 to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc)
  11. 11 measure word to show the frequency of an action
xià lai
  1. 1 to come down
  2. 2 (completed action marker)
  3. 3 (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.)
  4. 4 (indicates continuation from the past towards us)
  5. 5 to be harvested (of crops)
  6. 6 to be over (of a period of time)
  7. 7 to go among the masses (said of leaders)
xià wǔ
  1. 1 afternoon
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
  3. 3 p.m.
xià zǎi
  1. 1 to download
  2. 2 also pr. [xià zài]
tiān xià
  1. 1 land under heaven
  2. 2 the whole world
  3. 3 the whole of China
  4. 4 realm
  5. 5 rule
shǒu
  1. 1 hand
  2. 2 (formal) to hold
  3. 3 person engaged in certain types of work
  4. 4 person skilled in certain types of work
  5. 5 personal(ly)
  6. 6 convenient
  7. 7 classifier for skill
  8. 8 CL:雙|双[shuāng],隻|只[zhī]
shǒu jī
  1. 1 cell phone
  2. 2 mobile phone
  3. 3 CL:部[bù],支[zhī]
yī xià zi
  1. 1 in a short while
  2. 2 all at once
  3. 3 all of a sudden
yī shǒu
  1. 1 a skill
  2. 2 mastery of a trade
  3. 3 by oneself
  4. 4 without outside help
shàng xià
  1. 1 up and down
  2. 2 top and bottom
  3. 3 old and new
  4. 4 length
  5. 5 about
shàng shǒu
  1. 1 to obtain
  2. 2 to master
  3. 3 overhand (serve etc)
  4. 4 seat of honor
xià qù
  1. 1 to go down
  2. 2 to descend
  3. 3 to go on
  4. 4 to continue
  5. 5 (of a servant) to withdraw
xià chǎng
  1. 1 to leave (the stage, an exam room, the playing field etc)
  2. 2 to take part in some activity
  3. 3 to take an examination (in the imperial examination system)
xià shǔ
  1. 1 subordinate
  2. 2 underling
xià ba
  1. 1 chin
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
xià chú
  1. 1 to go to the kitchen (to prepare a meal)
  2. 2 to cook
xià shǒu
  1. 1 to start
  2. 2 to put one's hand to
  3. 3 to set about
  4. 4 the seat to the right of the main guest
xià bān
  1. 1 to finish work
  2. 2 to get off work
xià kè
  1. 1 to finish class
  2. 2 to get out of class

Idioms (20)

一手交钱,一手交货
yī shǒu jiāo qián , yī shǒu jiāo huò
  1. 1 lit. one hand exchanges the cash, the other the goods (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to pay for what you want in cash
  3. 3 simple and direct transaction
七手八脚
qī shǒu bā jiǎo
  1. 1 (idiom) with everyone lending a hand (eagerly but somewhat chaotically)
三下两下
sān xià liǎng xià
  1. 1 quickly and effortlessly (idiom)
上下其手
shàng xià qí shǒu
  1. 1 to raise and lower one's hand (idiom); to signal as conspiratorial hint
  2. 2 fig. conspiring to defraud
上有天堂,下有苏杭
shàng yǒu tiān táng , xià yǒu Sū Háng
  1. 1 lit. there is heaven above, and there is 蘇杭|苏杭[Sū Háng] below (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. the beauty and affluence of Suzhou and Hangzhou is comparable with heaven
上有政策,下有对策
shàng yǒu zhèng cè , xià yǒu duì cè
  1. 1 The higher ups have policies while the lower downs have their own ways of getting around them. (idiom)
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
  1. 1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
  3. 3 sandwich generation
上梁不正下梁歪
shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi
  1. 1 lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom); fig. subordinates imitate their superiors' vices
上气不接下气
shàng qì bù jiē xià qì
  1. 1 out of breath (idiom)
  2. 2 to gasp for air
上行下效
shàng xíng xià xiào
  1. 1 subordinates follow the example of their superiors (idiom)
不怕神一样的对手,就怕猪一样的队友
bù pà shén yī yàng de duì shǒu , jiù pà zhū yī yàng de duì yǒu
  1. 1 a boneheaded teammate can do you more harm than the most formidable opponent (idiom)
不愧下学
bù kuì xià xué
  1. 1 not ashamed to learn from subordinates (idiom)
世风日下
shì fēng rì xià
  1. 1 public morals are degenerating with each passing day (idiom)
干打雷,不下雨
gān dǎ léi , bù xià yǔ
  1. 1 all thunder but no rain (idiom)
  2. 2 a lot of noise but no action
人有失手,马有失蹄
rén yǒu shī shǒu , mǎ yǒu shī tí
  1. 1 lit. just as humans make mistakes, so can a horse stumble (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. everyone makes mistakes
  3. 3 even the best fall down sometimes
伸手不见五指
shēn shǒu bù jiàn wǔ zhǐ
  1. 1 pitch-dark (idiom)
低首下心
dī shǒu xià xīn
  1. 1 to be fawningly submissive (idiom)
先下手为强
xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng
  1. 1 strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.
两手空空
liǎng shǒu kōng kōng
  1. 1 empty-handed (idiom); fig. not receiving anything
兵临城下
bīng lín chéng xià
  1. 1 soldiers at the city walls (idiom); fig. at a critical juncture

Sample Sentences

过了这村就没有这店了,这个优惠是最后一天,我要赶紧下手!
guòlezhècūnjiùméiyǒuzhèdiànle ,zhège yōuhuì shì zuìhòu yìtiān ,wǒ yào gǎnjǐn xiàshǒu !
This is the last day of the promotion and if I missed it, there won’t be another one!
一直没敢下手时,对方早已不明觉厉,衷心替那对核桃感到幸运,毕竟它们被一位艺术家相中了,而自己也何其幸运,艺术家想必会允许自己为他入手这对核桃效犬马之力吧?
yīzhí méi gǎn xiàshǒu shí ,duìfāng zǎoyǐ bùmíngjuélì ,zhōngxīn tì nà duì hétao gǎndào xìngyùn ,bìjìng tāmen bèi yī wèi yìshùjiā xiāngzhòng le ,ér zìjǐ yě hé qí xìngyùn ,yìshùjiā xiǎngbì huì yǔnxǔ zìjǐ wéi tā rùshǒu zhè duì hétao xiào quǎnmǎzhīlì ba ?
When the customer heard the artist say that he recently admired a pair of walnut trinkets, though they haven’t even begun to talk about the purchase, the customer’s admiration arose, even though he did not understand what the artist had said. He was truly happy about the walnuts. After all, the walnuts had been admired by an artist, and the customer felt very blessed that the artist allowed him put in his own effort to get the walnuts for the artist (in exchange for the painting).
这你就不懂了,中国人讲的是集体主义,讲效率,你冰箱门都开好了,还没伸手,他看有空档就先下手了,免得等会儿他还得再开一次门。
zhè nǐ jiù bù dǒng le ,Zhōngguórén jiǎng de shì jítǐzhǔyì ,jiǎng xiàolǜ ,nǐ bīngxiāng mén dōu kāi hǎo le ,hái méi shēnshǒu ,tā kàn yǒu kòngdǎng jiù xiān xiàshǒu le ,miǎnde děng huǐr tā hái děi zài kāi yīcì mén 。
You don't even understand this? Chinese people talk in terms of collectivism and efficacy. With the door to the fridge already open, and you not having stretched out your arm yet, he made the first move when he saw the free opportunity, to avoid having to open the door again.
Go to Lesson 
喂,老王,下手了吗?
wéi ,Lǎo Wáng ,xiàshǒu le ma ?
Hello, Lao Wang. Have you done it?
Go to Lesson 
还不快盯上!动作干净点,下手要狠!
hái bù kuài dīngshàng !dòngzuò gānjìng diǎnr ,xiàshǒu yào hěn !
Keep your eyes on her! Make it clean, and show no mercy!
喂,我要你摆平一个女人。对,就是她。嗯,下手之前一定要先把她拍的视频搞到手。
wéi ,wǒ yào nǐ bǎipíng yī gè nǚrén 。duì ,jiùshì tā 。ng4 ,xiàshǒu zhīqián yīdìng yào xiān bǎ tā pāi de shìpín gǎodàoshǒu 。
Hello, I want you to take care of a woman for me. That's right, her. Yeah, before you do it, make sure you get a hold of that video she made.