Word Detail

The word 手の甲 (てのこう, *te no kou*) refers to the back of the hand. It is the dorsal side of the hand, opposite the palm. It includes the area from the knuckles up to the wrist. It's the part of your hand you typically see when you hold your hand out with the palm facing down. The skin here often appears more exposed and can be affected differently by the sun or cold compared to the palm.

⚫︎手の甲に日焼け止めを塗りました。 Translation: I applied sunscreen to the back of my hand. ⚫︎ 彼は怒りで手の甲をテーブルに叩きつけた。 Translation: He slammed the back of his hand on the table in anger. ⚫︎ 彼女は手の甲で涙を拭いた。 Translation: She wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

You use 手の甲 in any situation where you're describing the back of the hand. It can be used to describe actions (like wiping tears, hitting something), physical characteristics (sunburn, scars), or locations (something placed on the back of the hand). It is a very common and natural word to use in everyday conversation. You'll often see it used in descriptions of physical contact, injuries, or to indicate a direction or position of the hand.

手の甲 is written in hiragana as てのこう. The kanji representation is 手の甲, where 手 means "hand", の is a possessive particle, and 甲 means "back" or "shell". There are no variations in okurigana. It is always written as 手の甲. 手の甲 is commonly used.

There aren't many direct synonyms for 手の甲. While not direct synonyms, the following words might be used in a descriptive manner: ⚫︎ 手の背 (てのせ) - back of the hand (less common but could be used) ⚫︎ 手 (て) - hand (general term, requires context to specify "back")

⚫︎ 手のひら (てのひら) - palm (the front/inner part of the hand)

夏は、手の甲が日焼けしやすい。 ・Translation: In summer, the back of your hand is prone to sunburn. ・Explanation: This sentence describes a common experience and highlights the sun's impact on the back of the hand during the summer season.

彼女は彼の手の甲に優しく触れた。 ・Translation: She gently touched the back of his hand. ・Explanation: This sentence describes a gentle and affectionate gesture. It shows how the word can be used to describe the location of touch.

The etymology of 手の甲 is straightforward. 手 comes from the Old Japanese word for "hand". The kanji 甲 means "shell", "armor" or the "back" of something. It is used to describe the back of the hand because it is the "back" or "top" part of the hand as it is viewed from the palm side.