手册
shǒucè · HSK 7
manual
📖 手 hand + 册 booklet = a handbook you hold in hand
手 means hand and 册 means a bound booklet or volume; together they form a hand-held booklet, i.e. a manual or guidebook. 册 itself is a pictograph of bamboo slips strung together into a book.
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.
册 — two bamboo strips 竹 bound by a cord
册 is a pictograph of ancient bamboo or wooden writing slips threaded together with a cord, the earliest form of a book in China. The original meaning was a bound bundle of slips, which broadened to mean a volume, register, or booklet. Modern uses like 书册 (book) and 注册 (to register) preserve this sense.