手掌
shoǔ zhǎng · HSK 7
palm
✋ 手掌 = 手 hand + 掌 palm/sole — the flat gripping part of the hand
手 (shǒu) means hand; 掌 (zhǎng) is the palm or flat sole. Together 手掌 pins it to the hand specifically: the palm. 掌 also shows up in 鼓掌 gǔzhǎng, to clap (strike palms together).
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.