手数

• Reading: てすう
• Romaji: tesuu
• Kanji breakdown: 手 (te) — hand; 数 (suu) — number, count
• Pronunciation: /te.sɯː/

Meaning

Trouble; bother; the effort or steps required to accomplish something.

A noun describing the effort, labour, or number of steps involved in a task. Most commonly appears in the polite expression お手数ですが (sorry to trouble you, but...) or お手数をおかけします (I apologise for the inconvenience). Also used in board games like shogi and go to mean 'number of moves.' The reading てすう is standard for the 'trouble' meaning; てかず is used for 'number of moves.'

Examples

1. お手数ですが、もう一度ご確認いただけますか。 Sorry to trouble you, but could you please check this once more?
2. 手数のかかる作業だが丁寧にやる必要がある。 It's a labor-intensive task, but it needs to be done carefully.
3. お手数をおかけして申し訳ございません。 I'm very sorry for the inconvenience.

Usage Guide

Context: business, customer service, formal requests, board games

Tone: polite

Origin & History

From 手 (te, hand) + 数 (suu, number/count). Literally 'the number of hand-actions,' referring to how many steps or how much manual effort is required. The polite usage emphasises the burden placed on someone.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal