手
te
The hand hiding inside 'stamp' and 'good at'
The picture A palm opens, five fingers go out toward something, and they grip it, pass it, move it. 手 is the hand that reaches out and grips; 足 is the foot that carries you to the spot.
Where the picture shows up in 手
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the hand you wash
手を洗ってから入ってください。
te o aratte kara haitte kudasai
Please wash your hands before coming in.
Two palms rub each other under a tap, then shake off the water and push the door open
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a slip passed hand to hand
すみません、切手を二枚ください。
sumimasen, kitte o ni-mai kudasai
Excuse me, two stamps please.
A small square cut from a big sheet, pinched between fingertips and set down on an envelope
切手 comes from the picture of a slip cut off and handed over.
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hands counted as workers
今日は人手が足りません。
kyō wa hitode ga tarimasen
We are short-handed today.
Only two pairs of gloved hands move in the workshop; the other benches have no hands at all
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a hand held higher
田中さんは運転が上手ですね。
Tanaka-san wa unten ga jōzu desu ne
You drive well, Tanaka.
Among several hands, one sits a hand's width above the others and moves more lightly
上手 literally puts the hand up high: skill drawn as the height of a hand.
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a hand added from the side
重いので手伝ってください。
omoi node tetsudatte kudasai
It's heavy, so please give me a hand.
Two more hands slide in under a box someone is already carrying and take part of the weight
All of it in one picture
手 is one hand reaching out. Put it under a tap and it is the hand you wash; cut a small slip of paper and pass it along and you get 切手, a stamp; count the hands moving in a workshop and you get 人手, the workers you have. Lift one hand a little above the rest and that is 上手, being good at something; slide your hands under someone else's load and that is 手伝う, helping. The words change, but the thing moving in the picture is always a hand.