下手

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Chinese

Pronunciation 1

under; next; lower
under; next; lower; below; underneath; down(wards); to go down; latter
 
hand; convenient; ‑er
simp. and trad.
(下手)
alternative forms 下首 “player”
anagram 手下

Note:
  • xiàshǒur - “player; assistant”.

Noun

下手

  1. player whose turn comes next
  2. (colloquial) assistant; aide
    需要旁邊下手 [MSC, trad.]
    需要旁边下手 [MSC, simp.]
    Wǒ xūyào yǒu rén zài wǒ pángbiān bāng wǒ dǎxiàshǒu.
    I need someone by my side to help me.
  3. Alternative form of 下首 (xiàshǒu, side of lower priority or less honour)
Synonyms
Derived terms

Pronunciation 2


Verb

下手

  1. to start doing something; to take action; to go about something
    知道如何下手 [MSC, trad. and simp.]
    Wǒ bù zhīdào rúhé xiàshǒu.
    I don't know how to go about it.
  2. to commit a crime/to initiate an ambush/sneak attack
Synonyms
  • (to start doing something):
Derived terms

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
へた
Grade: 1 Grade: 1
jukujikun

Probably a semantic shift from (heta, edge of something), referring metaphorically to the edge of one's abilities or knowledge.[1]

The kanji spelling appears to be an instance of jukujikun (熟字訓).

Pronunciation

Adjective

下手(へた) (heta-na (adnominal 下手(へた) (heta na), adverbial 下手(へた) (heta ni))

  1. unskilled, bad at, poor at, weak at, incompetent
  2. superficial, halfhearted, half-assed, careless
  3. smaller or lesser in degree
Inflection

Noun

下手(へた) (heta

  1. a mistake, a poor result, a screwup
    (だい)()(ところ)下手(へた)やったな。
    Daiji na tokoro de heta o yatta na.
    Well, you really made a mistake right when it was important.

Verb

下手(へた)する (heta surusuru (stem 下手(へた) (heta shi), past 下手(へた)した (heta shita))

  1. to make a mistake, to screw up
Conjugation

Antonyms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
した
Grade: 1

Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Compound of (shita, down; under; lower) +‎ (te, hand).[1][2][5]

Occasionally encountered with rendaku (連濁), where the -te ending changes to -de.

Pronunciation

Adjective

下手(したで) (shitade-na (adnominal 下手(したで) (shitade na), adverbial 下手(したで) (shitade ni))

  1. humble
Usage notes

The shitade reading is more common for the adjective sense.

Inflection

Noun

(した)() (shitate

  1. the lower part, especially downstream or downwind
    Synonym: (see below) 下手 (shimote)
    Antonym: 上手 (uwate)
  2. someone at a disadvantage or lower relative to another person, in terms of rank or ability
    Antonym: 上手 (uwate)
  3. (sumo) an underhand or lower hand hold, in which the wrestler's hand or arm is underneath or on the inside of the opponent's hand or arm
    Antonym: 上手 (uwate)
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
しも
Grade: 1

Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Compound of (shimo, lower) +‎ (te, hand).[1][2][5]

Pronunciation

Noun

(しも)() (shimote

  1. downstream; the lower portion of a slope
    Antonym: 上手 (kamite)
  2. (theater) downstage, specifically the left side of the stage as viewed from the audience
    Antonym: 上手 (kamite)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
くだ(り)
Grade: 1

Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Compound of 下り (kudari, descending, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, continuative or stem form) of verb 下る (kudaru, to descend, to go down)) +‎ (te, hand; side, direction).[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

(くだり)() (kudarite

  1. (uncommon) cheap, low-quality goods
    Synonym: 安物 (yasumono)

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term

Grade: 1
しゅ
Grade: 1
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 下手 (MC haeX|haeH syuwX).

Pronunciation

Noun

()(しゅ) (geshu

  1. (uncommon) someone of low status or rank

Verb

()(しゅ)する (geshu surusuru (stem ()(しゅ) (geshu shi), past ()(しゅ)した (geshu shita))

  1. (uncommon) to lower one's hand onto something, to set one's hand onto something
Conjugation

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. 5.0 5.1 Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN