How to Write 掌 (zhǎng) — Meaning “palm of the hand”

Imagine that your palm is the top part of your hand that you use to 'still' or hold things. Picture the top part 尚 as a roof over the hand 手, like a protective cover—your palm covers and controls objects.

Write the top part 尚 first: dot, short stroke, then the small '冖' cover, followed by the vertical hook and two small strokes inside. Then write the bottom radical 手 in three strokes: leftward stroke, horizontal, and vertical hook. A common mistake is making the top part too wide or forgetting the dot on top—keep it compact above the hand.

掌 means 'palm' and has the hand radical 手 at the bottom. 拳 (quán) means 'fist' and has the top part 䏍 (a variant of 'fist') over a hand—it's more curled and compact. 拿 (ná) means 'to take' or 'to hold' and combines 合 (hé, 'to join') with 手, so it shows joining the hand to grab something.

掌 is used in common words like 掌握 (zhǎng wò, 'to master' or 'grasp control') and 鼓掌 (gǔ zhǎng, 'to applaud'). In Chinese culture, clapping (鼓掌) is a polite way to show appreciation, and 手掌 (shǒu zhǎng) is used in palm reading (看手相) for fortune telling.

Common words containing 掌 include: 掌握 (zhǎng wò) — to master or grasp; 鼓掌 (gǔ zhǎng) — to clap hands; to applaud; 手掌 (shǒu zhǎng) — palm.