解手

Chinese

	to loosen; to untie; to explain to loosen; to untie; to explain; to remove; to divide; to dissolve; to solve; solution; send under escort	hand; convenient; ‑er
trad. (解手)	解	手
simp. ^#(解手)	解	手
Literally: “untie oneself's hands”.

Etymology

“to defecate or urinate”: From 解溲 (jiěsōu) (Luo, 1997).

Folk etymology connects this to forced migration in early Ming dynasty, where people were tied up and sent to different provinces under escort. It was said that they needed to say this phrase to let the guards untie for them when they wanted to go to toilet.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): jiěshǒu

(Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄕㄡˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): gaai² sau²
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): kái-chhiú

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: jiěshǒu [Phonetic: jiéshǒu]
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄕㄡˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jiěshǒu
  - Wade–Giles: chieh³-shou³
  - Yale: jyě-shǒu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jieeshoou
  - Palladius: цзешоу (czešou)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: jiěshǒur [Phonetic: jiéshǒur]
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄕㄡˇㄦ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jiěshǒur
  - Wade–Giles: chieh³-shou³-ʼrh
  - Yale: jyě-shǒur
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jieeshooul
  - Palladius: цзешоур (czešour)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂɤʊ̯ɻʷ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: gaai² sau²
  - Yale: gáai sáu
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gaai² sau²
  - Guangdong Romanization: gai² seo²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaːi̯³⁵ sɐu̯³⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kái-chhiú
  - Tâi-lô: kái-tshiú
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kaychiuo
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kai⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡sʰiu⁵³/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kai⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ t͡sʰiu⁵⁵⁴/

Verb

解手

(euphemistic, colloquial) to relieve oneself; to defecate or urinate
(archaic) to part; to become separated

Synonyms

(relieve oneself): 便溺 (biànniào), 方便 (fāngbiàn), 解溲 (jiěsōu)

Noun

解手

(archaic) way to relieve a crisis