下手

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Chinese

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Pronunciation 1

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under; next; lower
under; next; lower; below; underneath; down(wards); to go down; latter
 
hand; convenient; ‑er
simp. and trad.
(下手)
alternative forms 下首 “player”
anagram 手下

Note:
  • xiàshǒur - “player; assistant”.

Noun

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下手

  1. player whose turn comes next
  2. (colloquial) assistant; aide
    需要旁邊下手 [MSC, trad.]
    需要旁边下手 [MSC, simp.]
    Wǒ xūyào yǒu rén zài wǒ pángbiān bāng wǒ dǎxiàshǒu. [Pinyin]
    I need someone by my side to help me.
  3. Alternative form of 下首 (xiàshǒu, side of lower priority or less honour)
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Pronunciation 2

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Verb

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下手

  1. to start doing something; to take action; to go about something
    知道如何下手 [MSC, trad. and simp.]
    Wǒ bù zhīdào rúhé xiàshǒu. [Pinyin]
    I don't know how to go about it.
  2. to commit a crime/to initiate an ambush/sneak attack
Synonyms
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  • (to start doing something):
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Derived terms
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Japanese

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Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
へた
Grade: 1 Grade: 1
jukujikun

Probably a semantic shift from (heta, edge of something), referring metaphorically to the edge of one's abilities or knowledge.[1]

The kanji spelling appears to be an instance of jukujikun (熟字訓).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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下手(へた) (heta-na (adnominal 下手(へた) (heta na), adverbial 下手(へた) (heta ni))

  1. unskilled, bad at, poor at, weak at, incompetent
  2. superficial, halfhearted, half-assed, careless
  3. smaller or lesser in degree
Inflection
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Noun

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下手(へた) (heta

  1. a mistake, a poor result, a screwup
    (だい)()(ところ)下手(へた)やったな。
    Daiji na tokoro de heta o yatta na.
    Well, you really made a mistake right when it was important.

Verb

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下手(へた)する (heta surusuru (stem 下手(へた) (heta shi), past 下手(へた)した (heta shita))

  1. to make a mistake, to screw up
Conjugation
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Antonyms

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Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
した
Grade: 1

Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Compound of (shita, down; under; lower) +‎ (te, hand).[1][2][5]

Occasionally encountered with rendaku (連濁), where the -te ending changes to -de.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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下手(したで) (shitade-na (adnominal 下手(したで) (shitade na), adverbial 下手(したで) (shitade ni))

  1. humble
Usage notes
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The shitade reading is more common for the adjective sense.

Inflection
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Noun

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(した)() (shitate

  1. the lower part, especially downstream or downwind
    Synonym: (see below) 下手 (shimote)
    Antonym: 上手 (uwate)
  2. someone at a disadvantage or lower relative to another person, in terms of rank or ability
    Antonym: 上手 (uwate)
  3. (sumo) an underhand or lower hand hold, in which the wrestler's hand or arm is underneath or on the inside of the opponent's hand or arm
    Antonym: 上手 (uwate)
Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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Kanji in this term
しも
Grade: 1

Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Compound of (shimo, lower) +‎ (te, hand).[1][2][5]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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(しも)() (shimote

  1. downstream; the lower portion of a slope
    Antonym: 上手 (kamite)
  2. (theater) downstage, specifically the left side of the stage as viewed from the audience
    Antonym: 上手 (kamite)

Etymology 4

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Kanji in this term
くだ(り)
Grade: 1

Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Compound of 下り (kudari, descending, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, continuative or stem form) of verb 下る (kudaru, to descend, to go down)) +‎ (te, hand; side, direction).[1]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [kɯ̟da̠ɾʲite̞]

Noun

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(くだり)() (kudarite

  1. (uncommon) cheap, low-quality goods
    Synonym: 安物 (yasumono)

Etymology 5

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Kanji in this term

Grade: 1
しゅ
Grade: 1
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 下手 (MC haeX|haeH syuwX).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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()(しゅ) (geshu

  1. (uncommon) someone of low status or rank

Verb

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()(しゅ)する (geshu surusuru (stem ()(しゅ) (geshu shi), past ()(しゅ)した (geshu shita))

  1. (uncommon) to lower one's hand onto something, to set one's hand onto something
Conjugation
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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. 5.0 5.1 Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN