字Study Chinese Characters
头

tóu head

5 strokes

头 (tóu) is a Chinese character meaning “head”. It is written from ㇔ (dot stroke) and ㇔ (dot stroke) and 大 (big), and takes 5 strokes.

Build the character for “head”

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Structure

㇔ + ㇔ + 大

Overlapping structure

  • ㇔ dot stroke unknown
  • ㇔ dot stroke unknown
  • 大 big · dà unknown

Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (five strokes: two right-falling dots in the upper left, over a full-size 大)

Memory aid

Two small dots (㇔ ㇔) perched in the upper left of a big standing figure (大) — what sits on top of the body is the head.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

5 strokes

In real words

  • 点头diǎn tóuto nod (one’s head)头 = tóu
  • 木头mù touwood; timber; log头 = tóu
  • 低头dī tóuto lower one's head头 = tóu
  • 劲头jìn tóuvigor; energy; enthusiasm头 = tóu
  • 叩头kòu tóuto kowtow; to bow with the head touching the ground头 = tóu
  • 尽头jìn tóuthe end; the far end头 = tóu
  • 抬头tái tóuto raise one's head; to look up头 = tóu
  • 秃头tū tóubald head; a bald person头 = tóu
  • 舌头shé toutongue头 = tóu
  • 剃头tì tóuto shave the head; to get a haircut头 = tóu
  • 啃骨头kěn gǔ touto gnaw on a bone; (fig.) to tackle a tough job头 = tóu
  • 埋头mái tóuto immerse oneself in; to bury oneself in (work, study)头 = tóu
  • 头昏tóu hūndizzy; light-headed头 = tóu
  • 头晕tóu yūndizzy; to feel dizzy头 = tóu
  • 头疼tóu téngheadache; to have a headache; (fig.) troublesome头 = tóu
  • 头盔tóu kuīhelmet头 = tóu
  • 头绪tóu xùmain threads of a matter; clue; sense of where to begin头 = tóu
  • 头衔tóu xiántitle; official title头 = tóu
  • 头颅tóu lúhead; skull头 = tóu
  • 崭露头角zhǎn lù tóu jiǎoto begin to show one's talent头 = tóu
  • 插头chā tóuelectrical plug头 = tóu
  • 斧头fǔ tóuaxe; hatchet头 = tóu
  • 梳头shū tóuto comb one’s hair头 = tóu
  • 眉头méi tóubrows; the area between the eyebrows头 = tóu
  • 袁大头yuán dà tóusilver dollar coin bearing the head of Yuan Shikai头 = tóu
  • 骨头gǔ tóubone头 = tóuspoken asgǔ tou
Go deeper

All readings

tóu main reading

head

head; the top or front end of something; chief; first

人或动物身体最上、最前的部分；也指物体的顶端、开始或带头的人。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 点头diǎn tóuto nod (one’s head)头 = tóu
  • 木头mù touwood; timber; log头 = tóu
  • 低头dī tóuto lower one's head头 = tóu
  • 劲头jìn tóuvigor; energy; enthusiasm头 = tóu
  • 叩头kòu tóuto kowtow; to bow with the head touching the ground头 = tóu
  • 尽头jìn tóuthe end; the far end头 = tóu
  • 抬头tái tóuto raise one's head; to look up头 = tóu
  • 秃头tū tóubald head; a bald person头 = tóu
  • 舌头shé toutongue头 = tóu
  • 剃头tì tóuto shave the head; to get a haircut头 = tóu
  • 啃骨头kěn gǔ touto gnaw on a bone; (fig.) to tackle a tough job头 = tóu
  • 埋头mái tóuto immerse oneself in; to bury oneself in (work, study)头 = tóu
  • 头昏tóu hūndizzy; light-headed头 = tóu
  • 头晕tóu yūndizzy; to feel dizzy头 = tóu
  • 头疼tóu téngheadache; to have a headache; (fig.) troublesome头 = tóu
  • 头盔tóu kuīhelmet头 = tóu
  • 头绪tóu xùmain threads of a matter; clue; sense of where to begin头 = tóu
  • 头衔tóu xiántitle; official title头 = tóu
  • 头颅tóu lúhead; skull头 = tóu
  • 崭露头角zhǎn lù tóu jiǎoto begin to show one's talent头 = tóu
  • 插头chā tóuelectrical plug头 = tóu
  • 斧头fǔ tóuaxe; hatchet头 = tóu
  • 梳头shū tóuto comb one’s hair头 = tóu
  • 眉头méi tóubrows; the area between the eyebrows头 = tóu
  • 袁大头yuán dà tóusilver dollar coin bearing the head of Yuan Shikai头 = tóu
  • 骨头gǔ tóubone头 = tóuspoken asgǔ tou

Other characters with these parts

㇔ → 不专为丹书予亦今

㇔ → 不专为丹书予亦今

大 → 因天太夫夭央夯夷

Easy to confuse with

买太

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 头 mean?

头 (tóu) means head; the top or front end of something; chief; first.

How do you pronounce 头?

It is pronounced tóu.

What parts is 头 made of?

㇔ (dot stroke) and ㇔ (dot stroke) and 大 (big). The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (five strokes: two right-falling dots in the upper left, over a full-size 大). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 头 have?

5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 头?

大. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.

What words use 头?

Common ones are 点头 and 木头. The reading of 头 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.