手势
shǒushì · HSK 7
gesture
🤚 手 (hand) + 势 (posture/momentum) = the posture of a hand, a gesture
手 means hand and 势 means posture or momentum; together they name the motions a hand makes to signal something. The same 势 shows up in 姿势 (posture) and 趋势 (trend).
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.