DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

著手

简着手 · 繁著手

Mandarin · pinyin zhuó shǒu

to put one's hand to it
to start out on a task
to set out

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Characters in this entry

著: zhù · zhe · manifest; (Cant.) to wear
手: shǒu · hand
着: zhe · make move, take action

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–3 · zhuo2 shou3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

著手 · find source passages ↗ · 着手 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to set about (doing something); to start (a task)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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