<blockquote>
<p>Thumb: 拇(mŭ)指(zhĭ) or 大拇指 or 大拇哥.
The first two words are common while the last one is less common. You would hear it more in oral speaking, in some regions(I heard of it from one of my relatives in HeBei province).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Watch the shape of &quot;拇&quot;. The left part refers to &quot;hand&quot;, and the right part is &quot;母“， meaning &quot;mother&quot;. I think it gets this name because of the importance of the thumb. I consult it in the dictionary of 《康熙字典》. It cites &quot;【說文】將指也。&quot; I believe &quot;將指&quot; is an analogy that a thumb is like a general among fingers :)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Index Finger:食指(shí zhĭ)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I think we call it because we would dip this finger to the food(soup, etc) to taste the flavour(食 means to eat). There is a famous story from 《左传》 related the index finger and we coin a word &quot;染指&quot; from it(here, 染 means &quot;to dip&quot;). I won't tell you the story here, because it's a little bit long and complicated, sorry. You can search an idiom we get from it &quot;食指大动&quot; to find more info about this story.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Middle Finger: 中指(zhōng  zhĭ).  &quot;中&quot; means &quot;middle&quot;</p>
<p>Ring Finger: 无名指(wú míng zhĭ). Interesting, &quot;无名&quot; means &quot;without a name, anonymous&quot;</p>
<p>Pinky Finger:小指(xiăo zhĭ) or  小拇指(xiăo mŭ zhĭ). &quot;小&quot; means &quot;little, small&quot;</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-10T23:33:21.830Z
In September, I went to a governmental office to apply for my passport, and I was required to fill a form. Surprisingly, the word "环指", other than "无名指" was adopted on the form. To me, it looks like a direct translation from"ring finger". I've never heard of it. How about you guys?
Huang
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-22T09:19:37.877Z
That's awesome that the ring finger is called the 无名指. Its name is that it lacks a name... my brain hurts.
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-07-23T11:39:57.197Z
@mayueyang Yes, you can call it 小拇指. I personally don't like to use that word. Thanks, and I will edit my answer.
Huang
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-07-23T19:03:16.773Z
Another informal way to call them, as I've heard from  persons who came from different part of China, is 大拇指，二拇指，三拇指，四拇指，小拇指。The fact that Sougou Pinyin has these words suggests they are widely known.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-10T16:30:20.580Z
FYI, as noted in http://www.douban.com/note/237019298/, 无名指 `anonymous finger (literally)` comes from Sanskrit अनामिका `Anamika`, which also derived the Latin word _anonymus_, and languages such as Finnish, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Persian, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese and Japanese all share the same nomenclature.
Nihil
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-15T06:05:09.193Z
@NS.X. 二拇指，三拇指，四拇指 are usually used to refer toes. Personally, I've never heard people calling their fingers that way.
nfang
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-22T04:54:02.043Z
2012-07-23T11:41:07.027Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Huang
<p>In English we have different names for each of the fingers:</p>

<p>Thumb, index, middle, ring and pinky fingers.</p>

<p>Are there special names for each of these in Chinese and if necessary what are the associated meanings or origins.</p>

<vocabulary>
Different names for each of the fingers
# Different names for each of the fingers

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-12-22)

In English we have different names for each of the fingers:

Thumb, index, middle, ring and pinky fingers.

Are there special names for each of these in Chinese and if necessary what are the associated meanings or origins.

**Tags:** vocabulary


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2011-12-22. Score: 14 | Accepted answer

> Thumb: 拇(mŭ)指(zhĭ) or 大拇指 or 大拇哥.
> The first two words are common while the last one is less common. You would hear it more in oral speaking, in some regions(I heard of it from one of my relatives in HeBei province).

Watch the shape of "拇". The left part refers to "hand", and the right part is "母“， meaning "mother". I think it gets this name because of the importance of the thumb. I consult it in the dictionary of 《康熙字典》. It cites "【說文】將指也。" I believe "將指" is an analogy that a thumb is like a general among fingers :)

> Index Finger:食指(shí zhĭ)

I think we call it because we would dip this finger to the food(soup, etc) to taste the flavour(食 means to eat). There is a famous story from 《左传》 related the index finger and we coin a word "染指" from it(here, 染 means "to dip"). I won't tell you the story here, because it's a little bit long and complicated, sorry. You can search an idiom we get from it "食指大动" to find more info about this story.

> Middle Finger: 中指(zhōng zhĭ). "中" means "middle"
>
> Ring Finger: 无名指(wú míng zhĭ). Interesting, "无名" means "without a name, anonymous"
>
> Pinky Finger:小指(xiăo zhĭ) or 小拇指(xiăo mŭ zhĭ). "小" means "little, small"

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: That's awesome that the ring finger is called the 无名指. Its name is that it lacks a name... my brain hurts.  
> **username_1**: @mayueyang Yes, you can call it 小拇指. I personally don't like to use that word. Thanks, and I will edit my answer.  
> **username_3**: Another informal way to call them, as I've heard from  persons who came from different part of China, is 大拇指，二拇指，三拇指，四拇指，小拇指。The fact that Sougou Pinyin has these words suggests they are widely known.  
> **username_4**: FYI, as noted in http://www.douban.com/note/237019298/, 无名指 `anonymous finger (literally)` comes from Sanskrit अनामिका `Anamika`, which also derived the Latin word _anonymus_, and languages such as Finnish, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Persian, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese and Japanese all share the same nomenclature.  
> **username_5**: @NS.X. 二拇指，三拇指，四拇指 are usually used to refer toes. Personally, I've never heard people calling their fingers that way.  
> **username_1**: In September, I went to a governmental office to apply for my passport, and I was required to fill a form. Surprisingly, the word "环指", other than "无名指" was adopted on the form. To me, it looks like a direct translation from"ring finger". I've never heard of it. How about you guys?  

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