前头 (qián tou) — the front; ahead; in front

Definition

Colloquial noun for 'the front / ahead' — refers to a position in space or order. In writing, 前边 or 前面 is more common.

noun

the frontaheadin front

前头。
Tā zhàn zài wǒ qián tou.
He stood in front of me.
前头。
Zhè cì kǎo shì tā pái zài le wǒ qián tou.
In this exam, he ranked ahead of me.
前头，。
Nǐ zǒu qián tou, wǒ gēn zhe nǐ.
You walk ahead, I'll follow you.

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.

前 supplies the sense 'front'; 头 helps form the word, giving 'in front'.

Characters in this word

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

In the older form of 前, 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat) showed a foot on a boat moving forward; in the current 前 those parts are shortened.

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.

Appears in