拇 (mǔ) · thumb; big toe (used as a component in compound words)

Meanings

1 thumb; big toe (used as a component in compound words)

Characters

拇

mǔ

thumb; big toe

Examples

HSK 7-9

拇指是手上最粗壮的手指。

Mǔzhǐ shì shǒushàng zuì cūzhuàng de shǒuzhǐ.

The thumb is the sturdiest finger on the hand.

HSK 7-9

她的拇趾因为穿错鞋而受伤了。

Tā de mǔzhǐ yīnwèi chuān cuò xié ér shòushāng le.

Her big toe was injured from wearing the wrong shoes.

Tips

usage

拇 is rarely used alone - it appears in compounds: 拇指 (thumb or big toe), 拇趾 (big toe specifically). The thumb gesture of approval is 竖起大拇指.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand (radical form of 手)

Left raise-hand radical signals that 拇 names a part of the hand - specifically the thumb. The indexing radical for the body-part-of-the-hand family alongside 指 finger, 掌 palm. The thumb is anatomically tied to the hand, so the radical is both classifier and meaning-carrier.

phonetic

母 mǔ

mother (here phonetic)

Right 母 supplies the sound - mǔ unchanged. 母 also adds a faint flavour: as "mother finger" the thumb is the chief, first among the five - leader of the hand. Same phonetic appears in 姆 nanny. Pure phonetic borrowing reinforced by the "chief / mother" imagery.