二手 meaning in English

èrshǒu

indirectly acquired; second-hand (information, equipment etc)

HSK 4adjective6 strokes

Meaning of 二手

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

èrshǒu

indirectly acquired
second-hand (information, equipment etc)
assistant

How to use 二手

二手 is most often used before a noun to describe used goods, like 二手车 (èrshǒuchē, used car) or 二手房 (èrshǒufáng, resale home). It can also describe information you heard indirectly. Example: 我买了一部二手手机。(Wǒ mǎi le yí bù èrshǒu shǒujī.) I bought a second-hand phone.

二 (èr) means two and 手 (shǒu) means hand. Something that has passed through a second pair of hands is second-hand.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 第二手 for second-hand, but the fixed word is 二手 with no 第 (dì). 第二 is for ordinal order, like the second one in a list.

二手 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ买mǎi不bù起qǐ二èr手shǒu车chē。

I can't afford to buy a used car.

汤tāng姆mǔ建jiàn议yì我wǒ不bú要yào买mǎi二èr手shǒu车chē。

Tom advised me not to buy a secondhand car.

不bù，是shì二èr手shǒu的de。

No, it's second-hand.

他tā应yīng该gāi买mǎi一yī辆liàng二èr手shǒu车chē的de。

He should have bought a used car.

我wǒ能néng以yǐ100美měi元yuán的de价jià格gé卖mài了le二èr手shǒu车chē。

I was able to sell my used car for 100 dollars.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

二 èr · two · 2 strokes

手 shǒu · hand · 4 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 二手.

手机	shǒujī	cell phone; mobile phone
第二	dì-èr	second; number two
洗手间	xǐshǒujiān	toilet; lavatory
手表	shǒubiǎo	wristwatch
举手	jǔshǒu	to raise a hand; to put up one's hand (as signal)
手指	shǒuzhǐ	finger
对手	duìshǒu	opponent; rival
选手	xuǎnshǒu	athlete; contestant
歌手	gēshǒu	singer
握手	wòshǒu	to shake hands
手续	shǒuxù	procedure; formalities
分手	fēnshǒu	to part company; to split up

Questions about 二手

What does 二手 mean?

二手 (èrshǒu) means "indirectly acquired; second-hand (information, equipment etc)" and is used as a adjective.

How do you write 二手?

二手 is made of 2 characters: 二 (2 strokes), 手 (4 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 二手 an HSK word?

Yes. 二手 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How do you say brand new as the opposite of 二手?

Use 全新 (quánxīn), as in 全新的手机 (quánxīn de shǒujī), a brand-new phone. For a casual contrast you can also just say 新的 (xīn de).

Can 二手 describe information, not just objects?

Yes. 二手资料 (èrshǒu zīliào) means second-hand or secondary sources, and 二手消息 (èrshǒu xiāoxi) is news you heard from someone else rather than directly.