fingers; fingertips
Refers to the fingers or fingertips, often emphasizing dexterity or the tips themselves.
手先が器用な人は細かい作業が得意だ。
People with dexterous fingers are good at detailed work.
He ended up becoming a pawn of the criminal organization.
寒さで手先がかじかんだ。
My fingertips got numb from the cold.
Used for a person who is manipulated by someone else, like a puppet or a subordinate carrying out orders without autonomy.
彼は上司の手先として動いているだけだ。
He's just acting as his boss's pawn.
スパイの手先になって情報を流した。
He became a tool for the spy and leaked information.
Knitting requires moving your fingers with fine precision.
She was working as an agent of the enemy nation.
手下 is a plain, hierarchy-focused word for a subordinate or henchman, while 手先 stresses being used as someone else's tool without one's own will.
子分 names a loyal follower or gang subordinate, whereas 手先 emphasizes being manipulated like a puppet by a hidden controller.
手先 suggests a subordinate or pawn who is manipulated by someone else, whereas 手足 implies a trusted, indispensable helper.
手先 describes a person used as a tool or pawn by someone else, similar to the figurative sense of 傀儡, but 傀儡 more strongly implies political or institutional control.
黒幕 is the hidden mastermind pulling the strings, the opposite role to 手先, the underling who carries out the orders.
小手先 shares the kanji with 手先 but means superficial, shallow skill or a quick trick, not fingers or an underling.
指先 is the physical tip of a finger, while 手先 broadly means the hands/fingers as tools for manual work or skill.
tip of the hand; use of one's hands · cheap trick; superficial cleverness; makeshift; shortsighted
the other party; counterpart; person/company you are dealing with
Compound of 手 (hand) and 先 (tip, end). The literal meaning 'fingertips' extended metaphorically to a person who acts as the 'hands' of another, i.e., a tool or pawn.