握手

• Pinyin: wò shǒu
• Hanzi breakdown: 握 = 扌 (hand) + 屋 (house, phonetic) — to grip with the hand; 手 = pictograph of a hand with five fingers

Meaning

To shake hands; handshake. The gesture of grasping someone's hand as a greeting or agreement.

A common greeting gesture in formal and semi-formal situations. While historically less common in Chinese culture (which favoured bowing), handshaking has become standard in modern business and diplomatic contexts.

Examples

1. 两位领导人在会议上握手致意。 The two leaders shook hands in greeting at the meeting.
2. 他们见面的时候握了握手。 They shook hands when they met.
3. 我和新同事握手打了招呼。 I shook hands and greeted my new colleague.

Usage Guide

Context: greetings, business, diplomacy

Tone: polite

Do Say

• 初次见面，我们握个手吧。(Nice to meet you — let's shake hands.)
• 双方代表握手表示合作。(Representatives from both sides shook hands to show cooperation.)

Don't Say

• 我跟猫握手了。(In Chinese, 握手 is used for human greetings. For a pet shaking paws, say 握爪 or describe the action differently.)

Origin & History

握 means 'to grip' or 'to hold' and 手 means 'hand'. Together they describe the action of gripping hands — a handshake.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal