两手

兩手

liǎngshǒu

noun HSK 6 #45,739

Meanings

1 both hands
2 two-pronged (strategy); dual approach
3 a skill; a few tricks

Characters

Two hands — literally both hands, but often used figuratively for a two-pronged approach.

Examples

他两手空空地回来了。

Tā liǎng shǒu kōngkōng de huílái le.

He came back empty-handed.

我们要两手准备。

Wǒmen yào liǎng shǒu zhǔnbèi.

We need to prepare on both fronts.

他有两手绝活。

Tā yǒu liǎng shǒu juéhuó.

He has a couple of special skills.

两手抓，两手都要硬。

Liǎng shǒu zhuā, liǎng shǒu dōu yào yìng.

Grasp both hands, both must be firm. (A famous policy slogan.)

Tips

culture

两手抓，两手都要硬 is a famous political slogan from Deng Xiaoping, meaning China should pursue both economic development and ideological/spiritual civilization simultaneously.

usage

两手空空 (liǎng shǒu kōngkōng) is a common idiom meaning 'empty-handed' — coming or going with nothing.

Stroke Order

两 liǎng

手 shǒu