King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Chinese symbol for “adversary”

对手
duì shǒu
Traditional: 對手
opponent; rival; competitor; (well-matched) adversary

The closest CC-CEDICT match for adversary is 对手 (duì shǒu), defined as: opponent; rival; competitor; (well-matched) adversary; match.

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Characters and stroke order

对 duì
correct, right; facing, opposed
radical 41 ⼨ · 5 strokes
手 shǒu
hand
radical 64 ⼿ · 4 strokes

Traditional forms

Other Chinese words for “adversary”

WordPinyinMeaning
对头 (對頭)duì tou(longstanding) opponent; enemy
对抗者 (對抗者)duì kàng zhěadversary; opponent

Related words

Other words that share a character with 对手.

WordPinyinMeaning
对于 (對於)duì yúregarding; as far as (sth) is concerned; with regard to
反对 (反對)fǎn duìto oppose; to be against; to object to
绝对 (絕對)jué duìabsolute; unconditional
针对 (針對)zhēn duìto target; to focus on; to be aimed at or against; in response to
面对 (面對)miàn duìto face; to confront
相对 (相對)xiāng duìrelatively; opposite
手机 (手機)shǒu jīcell phone; mobile phone; measure word: 部 (bù), 台 (tái)
手段shǒu duànmethod; way; means (of doing sth); skill; ability

See also: Japanese symbol for “adversary”.

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Last posts

  1. Choosing the Best Wooden Sword Stand for Your Collection
  2. Why Bokken Crack and Which Woods Handle Impact Best
  3. Best Bokken Bags and Cases for Martial Arts Training
  4. Choosing the Best Wooden Tanto for Realistic Knife Drills
  5. What Is a Suburito and Is It Worth Buying for Strength
  6. Buying a Wooden Wakizashi for Two-Sword Practice
  7. Buying Chanbara Swords for Sparring and Competition
  8. What Size Shinai Does a Child Need for Kendo Practice
  9. Best Polypropylene Bokken for Hard Contact Training
  10. Best Foam Swords for Kids Martial Arts and Safe Practice