手心手背都是肉
Meanings
- lit. both the palm and the back of the hand are made of flesh (idiom)
- fig. to both be of equal importance
- to value both equally
Characters in this entry
- 手
- shǒu · hand
- 心
- xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
- 背
- bèi · back; back side; behind; betray
- 都
- dōu · dū · metropolis, capital; all, the whole; elegant, refined
- 是
- shì · indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
- 肉
- ròu · flesh; meat; Kangxi radical 130
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
3–1–3–4–1–4–4 · shou3 xin1 shou3 bei4 dou1 shi4 rou4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
sau2 sam1 sau2 bui3 dou1 si6 juk6
Cantonese word readings for 手心手背都是肉. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) to not be able to choose between one or the other because both are of equal importance, value, or favour
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack