对手
duìshǒu · HSK 3
competitor
🤺 对 = facing/opposite + 手 = hand; the hand facing yours = opponent
对 means 'facing' or 'pair', and 手 means 'hand'. Together 对手 literally reads as 'facing-hand' — the person whose hand meets yours across the table, board, or ring. Hence: opponent, rival, match.
对 — 又 (hand) + 寸 (measure/rule)
Originally depicted a hand (又) holding or responding to something, with 寸 added as a phonetic-semantic element suggesting measured action. The traditional form 對 showed a hand presenting an object in reply, giving the core sense of 'to answer' or 'face toward.' Modern meanings like 'correct' and 'pair' grew from this idea of matching response.
手 — pictograph of a hand with five fingers
手 is a pictograph showing an open hand with fingers and a wrist. Early bronze and oracle bone forms clearly depict five splayed fingers, which simplified over time into the modern shape. It keeps its original meaning of 'hand' and also serves as a radical in many characters related to hand actions.