人手 rénshǒu manpower
manpower; staff; human hand
How to remember 人手: 人 person + 手 hand = manpower.
Characters
How it is used
- Manpower / hands available for work - 我们人手不够 (wǒmen rénshǒu búgòu) we're short-staffed.
- An uncountable resource, almost always with 够/不够 (enough/not enough), 缺 (lack). Not a count of individuals.
- Different from 人员 (rényuán, personnel/staff as a group) and 人力 (rénlì, labor as a factor); 人手 is specifically the working hands you have on deck.
Example sentences
- 这家公司正缺少人手。 Zhè jiā gōngsī zhèng quēshǎo rénshǒu.This company is short-handed.