牵手
qiān shǒu · HSK 5
to hold hands
🤝 牵 (lead/pull) + 手 (hand) = lead by the hand
牵 means to pull or lead along (think of leading an animal by a rope); 手 is hand. Together: leading someone by the hand, i.e. holding hands. Common in romantic or parent-child contexts.
牵 — top 玄 (cord) + middle 冖 (cover) + bottom 牛 (ox)
Originally depicts leading an ox by a rope: 牛 (ox) below, with 玄 (a twisted cord) above suggesting the rope used to pull it. The 冖 element represents a tether or harness. The core meaning 'to pull, lead by a rope' extends figuratively to 'involve' or 'concern'.
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.