临头 (lín tóu) — to befall; to happen (of something bad); to be…

Definition

Means trouble or disaster is about to hit (often felt as a looming threat). Usually used after a bad event, as in 大难临头 or 祸到临头.

verb

to befallto happen (of something bad)to be imminent

，。
Dà nàn lín tóu, wǒ men yào xiǎng bàn fǎ yìng duì.
Great disaster is imminent; we need to find ways to deal with it.
临头，。
Zhè ge kùn nan lín tóu, dà jiā dōu gǎn dào bù ān.
This difficulty is upon us, and everyone feels uneasy.
临头。
Zhè zhǒng shì lín tóu bú dào wǒ tóu shàng.
This kind of thing does not befall me.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

临 conveys arriving, while 头 refers to the body part, giving the sense of something coming upon one.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臨; 临 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 臨, 人 is a person, 臣 is an eye, and 品 is objects, showing a person looking down at objects.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

豆頁頭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

豆

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

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