hand towel; handkerchief; tissue; napkin
A small cloth or paper used for wiping hands or face. Often refers to a personal hand towel or a paper napkin. Compare 手拭い (てぬぐい), which is a traditional longer cotton towel.
See also: 手ぬぐい (てぬぐい)
I wiped my hands with a hand towel before the meal.
I used a paper tissue instead of a handkerchief.
手拭き is a generic word for a hand towel of any material, whereas 手ぬぐい specifically denotes the thin, patterned traditional cotton cloth.
Standard kanji spelling.
Kana-mixed spelling; less common but still encountered.
Irregular okurigana usage; may be confused with てぬぐい.
Compound of 手 (て, 'hand') and 拭き (ふき, the continuative form of 拭く 'to wipe'). The exact historical derivation is straightforward; the spelling 手拭 is an irregular okurigana variant.