• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Japanese Particles Master

particles for perfection

  • Home
  • grammar
  • particles
  • nouns
  • verbs
  • adjectives
  • adverbs
  • translation
  • Author
Home » vocabulary » Hand in Japanese: te, explained with its related expressions

October 30, 2020 By Masaki Mori

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

kare wa watashi no te wo nigit ta – 彼は私の手を握った (かれはわたしのてをにぎった)

He held my hand.

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

kare wa watashi no katate wo nigit ta – 彼は私の片手を握った (かれはわたしのかたてをにぎった)

He held one of my hands.
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

kare wa watashi no ryoute wo nigit ta – 彼は私の両手を握った (かれはわたしのりょうてをにぎった)

He held both of my hands.
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.

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on Pinterest Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email

Learn more vocabulary on the app!

You can improve your Japanese vocabulary with our flashcards.

Get it on Google Play

Filed Under: vocabulary

You can learn more words by kanji groups

Kanji for big Kanji for day Kanji for fire Kanji for moon Kanji for person Kanji for rain Kanji for woman

Recent Posts

  • Tsutaeru is the Japanese verb for ‘to tell’ or ‘to convey’, explained
  • Asahi is the Japanese word for ‘rising sun’, explained
  • Uzumaki is the Japanese word for ‘swirl’, explained
  • Daigaku is the Japanese word for ‘university’, explained
  • Himawari is the Japanese word for ‘sunflower’, explained

Are you still looking for something?

Footer

Japanese Particles Master

  • Home
  • grammar
  • particles
  • nouns
  • adjectives
  • translation
  • Author

Blog Categories

  • adjectives
  • adverbs
  • grammar
  • nouns
  • particles
  • translation
  • verbs
  • vocabulary

Written By Masaki Mori

I'm an engineer and industrial translator. I'm trying to make people feel the Japanese culture through teaching the Japanese language. Read More…

Copyright © 2017–2023 Japanese Particles Master All Rights Reserved.