手工
shǒugōng · HSK 4
handwork
✋🔨 手 (hand) + 工 (work) = handwork / handicraft
Literal compound: 手 means hand and 工 means work or craft. Together they name anything made by hand rather than by machine — handicraft, manual labour, or handmade goods.
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.