Homophones are a very interesting characteristic in Chinese language. Homophones are words with different meanings which are pronounced in the same way but are written differently. In this post, we will learn three homophones of 手.
1. 棋手
棋 chess + 手 = 棋手 chess player
Example:
一个好的棋手必须总是攻击对手的王。A good chess player must always attack his opponent’s king.
2. 骑手
骑 ride + 手 = 骑手 horseback rider/horseman
Example:
他马骑得和骑手一样好。He can ride a horse like a horseman.
3. 旗手
旗 flag + 手 = 旗手 banner/flag bearer (literal meaning); standard bearer (figurative meaning)
Examples:
经过慎重考虑之后，我们决定让姚明当旗手。After serious consideration, we have decided that Yao Ming will be the flag bearer.
鲁迅是新文化运动的旗手。Lu Xun was a great standard-bearer of the New Culture Movement.
Just check the previous post: How 手 serves as a suffix to form compound words. Actually these three homophones are just three examples of the various words formed by the suffix 手.