手脚

• Pinyin: shǒu jiǎo
• Hanzi breakdown: 手 = a pictograph of a hand; 脚 = 月 + 却 (flesh component + to step — the foot as a bodily limb)

Meaning

Hands and feet; limbs. Also: underhand tricks; tampering. Either the literal physical limbs, or figurative reference to secret manipulation.

Has two distinct uses: (1) Literal — hands and feet as a pair, referring to one's physical limbs or dexterity (手脚麻利 — nimble/quick with hands and feet; 手脚不听使唤 — limbs not responding properly). (2) Figurative — secret manipulation, tampering, or underhand dealings (动手脚 — to tamper/rig; 在账目上动手脚 — to fiddle the accounts; 耍手脚 — to play tricks). Context almost always disambiguates.

Examples

1. 质检人员怀疑承包商在浇筑混凝土时动了手脚，便委托独立机构检测多处关键结构样本。 The inspectors suspected the contractor had tampered with the concrete pour, so they asked an independent agency to test samples from several key structural areas.
2. 这位街头魔术师手脚很麻利，能在与观众对视时让硬币指尖游走，没人察觉另一只手的动作。 This street magician is very quick with his hands and feet, and while keeping eye contact with the audience, he can move a coin across his fingertips without anyone noticing the other hand.
3. 内审查费用报告时发现几笔餐饮支出异常，怀疑有人在审批流程中动了手脚，已交合规部门调查。 When reviewing expense reports, internal audit found several abnormal dining charges and suspected someone had tampered with the approval process, so the records were sent to compliance for investigation.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, fraud, physical ability, legal, investigation

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 专家作证时指出，有人在原始数据元数据上动了手脚，改了关键文件时间戳，企图伪造时间线掩盖事实。(The expert testified that someone had tampered with the metadata of the original data, changed key file timestamps, and tried to fake a timeline to hide the facts.)
• 高强度训练中，体操选手的手脚反复承受冲击和摩擦，若保护不足，很易引发慢性炎症或皮肤损伤。(During high-intensity training, a gymnast's hands and feet repeatedly suffer impact and friction, and without enough protection, chronic inflammation or skin injuries can easily occur.)

Don't Say

• 手脚 when the context requires formal anatomical precision — use 上肢和下肢 (upper and lower limbs) or 手部和足部 (hand and foot areas) in clinical or medical writing; 手脚 is appropriate in everyday and semi-formal contexts but may sound too colloquial in formal medical documentation

Origin & History

手 (hand) + 脚 (foot — 月 flesh + 却 to step back, suggesting the foot as a limb)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal