1.
bare hands, empty hands
Hands without gloves, tools, or weapons. Emphasizes doing something with nothing but one's own hands.
素手で触らないでください。
Please don't touch it with your bare hands.
素手で魚をつかんだ。
I grabbed the fish with my bare hands.
薬品を扱うときは素手ではなく手袋を使ってください。
When handling chemicals, use gloves instead of bare hands.
USAGE:
Used adverbially with で: 素手で (with bare hands). Implies doing something without the protection or assistance of tools, gloves, or weapons. In martial arts, 素手 means fighting without weapons (unarmed).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 素手で触る: to touch with bare hands
- 素手で戦う: to fight bare-handed
- 素手でつかむ: to grab with bare hands
- 素手で料理する: to cook with bare hands
SIMILAR WORDS:
手ぶら (empty-handed) means arriving without bringing anything, while 素手 specifically means bare hands without gloves or tools.