Hand in Japanese: te, explained with its related expressions

How to say “hand” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “te”. It is the Japanese word for ‘hand’ or ‘hands’. In this blog post, I will explain this word and how to use it through an example sentence. And also, I will explain how to say “one hand” and “both hands” explicitly in Japanese. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “te”
  • Example #1: how to say “hand” in Japanese
• One hand in Japanese: katate
  • Example #2: how to say “one hand” in Japanese
• Both hands in Japanese: ryoute
  • Example #3: how to say “both hands” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “te”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “te”.

• te – 手 (て) : a noun meaning ‘hand’ in Japanese. It can also be used as a plural noun meaning ‘hands’. Learn more about Japanese plural.

In the Japanese language, the border between singular and plural nouns is ambiguous. So, many nouns can be used in both ways. “Te” is one of them. It can mean ‘hand’ or ‘hands’ depending on the situation and context.

Then, let me explain how to use this word through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “hand” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is used after the pronoun, “kare”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, it is used after the pronoun, “watashi”, to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is used after the noun phrase, “watashi no te”, to make the object in the sentence.
• nigit – 握っ (にぎっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “nigiru”, which means ‘to hold’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb put after a verb, adjective, auxiliary verb, or phrase to make its past tense form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “nigit”, to make its past tense form, “nigit ta”.

This is a typical usage of “te”. In the example, it is used to mean ‘hand’. When we want to say “hand” in Japanese, this word would be a good option.

Again, but the border between singular and plural nouns in Japanese is ambiguous. From this Japanese example sentence, therefore, we can not see whether he held one hand or both hands. When we want to avoid the ambiguity, the following two words are helpful.

One hand in Japanese: katate

Below is the Japanese word for ‘one hand’.

• katate – 片手 (かたて) : a noun meaning ‘one hand’ in Japanese.

The first kanji character is often used as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘one (of a pair)’. So this kanji expression explicitly means ‘one hand’. The example sentence above can be paraphrased with this word as follows.

Example #2: how to say “one hand” in Japanese

This is a typical usage of “katate”. Now we can clearly see that he held only one hand. When we want to mean “one hand” explicitly, this word is helpful.

Both hands in Japanese: ryoute

Next, then, let me explain how to say “both hands” in Japanese.

• ryoute – 両手 (りょうて) : a noun meaning ‘both hands’ in Japanese.

The first kanji is often used as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘both’ to its following word. So, this kanji expression literally means ‘both hands’. The last example sentence can be paraphrased with this word as follows.

Example #3: how to say “both hands” in Japanese

This is a typical usage of “ryoute”. Thanks to the help of the prefix, now we can clearly understand that he held both hands. When we want to say “both hands” explicitly, this word would be a good choice in most cases.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the word, “te”, and how to use it through the example sentence. And also, I’ve explained how to say “one hand” and “both hands” explicitly in Japanese. Let me summarize them as follows.

• te – 手 (て) : a noun meaning ‘hand’ in Japanese. It can also be used as a plural noun meaning ‘hands’. In the Japanese language, the border between singular and plural nouns is ambiguous. So, normally, we can not clearly see whether this word means ‘one hand’ or ‘both hands’.
• katate – 片手 (かたて) : a noun meaning ‘one hand’ in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘one hand’. So, when we want to say “one hand” explicitly, this word is helpful.
• ryoute – 両手 (りょうて) : a noun meaning ‘both hands’ in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘both hands’. So, when we want to say “both hands” explicitly, this word is helpful.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.