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先头 (xiān tóu) — the front; the area ahead (location); earlier time; before; previously

Definition

先头 means 'the front/forward part' (in space, like 先头部队) or 'before/earlier' (in time). As a time word it is more literary and narrative than plain 以前, often appearing in reports or retrospectives.

noun
the frontthe area ahead (location)earlier timebeforepreviously

Examples

  • 先头。
    xiān tóu Bù duì yǐ jīng dào dá mù dì dì le.
    The forward troops have already reached the destination.
  • 先头。
    xiān tóu Wǒ men hái bù zhī dào zhè jiàn shì.
    Before, we still didn't know about this matter.
  • 先头，。
    Nǐ xiān tóu zǒu ba, wǒ mǎ shàng jiù lái.
    You go ahead first; I'll be right there.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

先xiānfront
头tóu

先 points to what is in front or earlier, and 头 makes it a place or time.

Characters in this word

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

先 combines 止 (foot) and 儿 (person) to show someone moving forward.

Open 先 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
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.

Open 头 →
Appears in
DirectionsTime (Abstract)

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