両手

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The spelling is 両手, read りょうて, and it combines 両, meaning both, with 手, meaning hand.
• Basic usage: The basic sense of 両手 is both hands together: the left and right hands as a pair.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Both hands as means and object
  • Both examples use the form 両手. In the first, both hands are the means of holding; in the second, they are what the child spreads while running forward.
• Holding a box and a child's welcoming gesture
  • 大きな箱を両手でしっかり持ちました。 — I held the large box firmly with both hands.
  • 子どもは両手を広げて母親に駆け寄りました。 — The child spread both arms and ran toward their mother.