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准头 (zhǔn tóu) — tip of the nose

Definition

准头 (zhǔn tóu) means the tip of the nose, with the 头 acting as a noun-forming suffix. The older, more literary sense of 'aim/accuracy' (as in 准头儿好 'good aim') belongs to a different pronunciation context and is above HSK level.

noun
tip of the nose

Examples

  • 准头。
    Tā de zhǔn tóu hěn jiān.
    The tip of his nose is very pointy.
  • 准头。
    Tā yòng shǒu zhǐ qīng qīng pèng le pèng zhǔn tóu.
    She gently touched the tip of her nose with her finger.
  • ，准头。
    Dōng tiān de shí hou, wǒ de zhǔn tóu zǒng shì hěn lěng.
    In winter, the tip of my nose is always cold.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

准zhǔnnose
头tóutip

准 names the nose and 头 names its tip.

Characters in this word

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 準; 准 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
隼
隼sǔn準zhǔn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 準, not 准, pairs 水 (water) with 隼 as a sound part; the evidence describes it as 'water level'.

Open 准 →

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
Body Parts

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