到头 (dào tóu) — to reach the end, to come to an end | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

到头 means a process finally reaches its end, often with a sense of finality or exhaustion. It's typically used as a complement after a verb (e.g., 坚持到头, 走到头) rather than as a standalone predicate.

verb

to reach the endto come to an end

Examples

到头。
Zhè tiáo lù yǐ jīng dào tóu le.
This road has come to an end.
。
Tā pà zì jǐ jiān chí bú dào tóu.
He's afraid he won't be able to hold out to the end.
到头。
Bú yào děng dào shì qing dào tóu le cái hòu huǐ.
Don't wait until things have come to an end to regret.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

到 means reach, and 头 means end, so the sense is reaching the end.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

至至zhìto arrive

Sound part声符shēngfú

刀

刀dāo到dào

Same sound today

到 combines 至, meaning 'to arrive', with 刀 as the sound part. The 至 part points to the idea of reaching a stopping point.

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

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.

Appears in

Change & Process

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