拇

The largest digit of either the hand or the foot. Used interchangeably for "thumb" and "big toe."

Within a system including 指 (finger) and 趾 (toe), the following heuristics may help narrow the meaning:

• When paired with 趾, it likely refers to the thumb.
• When paired with 指, it likely refers to the big toe.[/DISTINITIONS]

Semantic variant: U+27FF9.

The hand radical (手) serves as a general marker for extremities in this instance and does not restrict the meaning to the hand.

Determination of which extremity is intended relies on surrounding verbs, nouns, and anatomical context. In medical texts (e.g., //Huangdi Neijing//), precision is critical for identifying meridians and pressure points; translation should be driven by medical logic. There is little evidence of common metaphorical extension in the standard corpus.