How common it is
手指 appears often in everyday Chinese, so it is worth practicing early and reviewing often.
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Pronunciation focus
Say shǒuzhǐ slowly first, then repeat it in a short phrase. Listen for the tone shape.
Usage note
手指是我们手上细长的部分，每只手有五根手指，用来拿东西、写字和做很多事情。
Shǒuzhǐ shì wǒmen shǒu shàng xì cháng de bùfèn, měi zhī shǒu yǒu wǔ gēn shǒuzhǐ, yòng lái ná dōngxī, xiě zì hé zuò hěnduō shìqíng.
Fingers are the long, thin parts on our hands. Each hand has five fingers, used to hold things, write, and do many things.
Context note
在课堂上，老师教我们用手指指认图片，或者用手指捏住铅笔写字。
Zài kètáng shàng, lǎoshī jiāo wǒmen yòng shǒuzhǐ zhǐ rèn túpiàn, huòzhě yòng shǒuzhǐ niē zhù qiānbǐ xiě zì.
In class, the teacher teaches us to use our fingers to point at pictures, or to hold a pencil with our fingers to write.
5 examples
我的手指很灵活，可以弹钢琴。
wǒ de shǒu zhǐ hěn líng huó， kě yǐ tán gāng qín。
My fingers are very flexible; I can play the piano.
她用手指轻轻摸了摸小猫的头。
tā yòng shǒu zhǐ qīng qīng mō le mō xiǎo māo de tóu。
She gently touched the kitten's head with her finger.
数数的时候，我们可以用手指来帮忙。
shuò shuò de shí hòu， wǒ men kě yǐ yòng shǒu zhǐ lái bāng máng。
When counting, we can use our fingers to help.
他的手指受伤了，所以不能写字。
tā de shǒu zhǐ shòu shāng le， suǒ yǐ bù néng xiě zì。
His finger is hurt, so he cannot write.
每个手指上都有指甲，要记得剪短。
měi gè shǒu zhǐ shàng dōu yǒu zhǐ jiǎ， yào jì de jiǎn duǎn。
Each finger has a nail; remember to cut them short.
5 mini stories
小明用他的手指画了一幅画。画上有一只可爱的小狗。
xiǎo míng yòng tā de shǒu zhǐ huà le yì fú huà。 huà shàng yǒu yì zhī kě ài de xiǎo gǒu。
Xiao Ming used his finger to draw a picture. The picture has a cute puppy.
小红的手指很灵巧，她折了一只纸鹤。纸鹤飞到了桌子上。
xiǎo hóng de shǒu zhǐ hěn líng qiǎo， tā zhé le yì zhī zhǐ hè。 zhǐ hè fēi dào le zhuō zi shàng。
Xiao Hong's fingers are very dexterous; she folded a paper crane. The paper crane flew onto the table.
弟弟用他的手指指着天空说：“看，飞机！”飞机飞得很高。
dì di yòng tā de shǒu zhǐ zhǐ zhe tiān kōng shuō： “ kàn， fēi jī！ ” fēi jī fēi dé hěn gāo。
Little brother pointed his finger at the sky and said, 'Look, an airplane!' The airplane flew very high.
妈妈教我用手指打拍子唱歌。我唱了一首《小星星》。
mā ma jiào wǒ yòng shǒu zhǐ dǎ pāi zi chàng gē。 wǒ chàng le yì shǒu 《 xiǎo xīng xīng 》。
Mom taught me to tap my fingers to the beat while singing. I sang 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.'
我的手指被纸割破了，有点疼。老师帮我贴了创可贴。
wǒ de shǒu zhǐ bèi zhǐ gē pò le， yǒu diǎn téng。 lǎo shī bāng wǒ tiē le chuàng kě tiē。
My finger got cut by paper; it hurt a little. The teacher helped me put on a band-aid.