運転手

うんてんしゅ · untenshu · JLPT N4 · noun

driver

運転手 — driver

🚗 運転手 = carry + turn + hand: the hand that turns the wheel for a living

運転 (unten) means driving: 運 carry/transport + 転 turn/roll. 手 (shu) is hand, used as a suffix for a person who does a job, as in 歌手 singer or 選手 athlete. So 運転手 is the person whose job is driving.

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.

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