发梢 (fà shāo) — hair tips, ends of hair

Definition

Refers specifically to the very tips or ends of one's hair, as opposed to the hair as a whole (头发) or the roots. The word is a compound of 发 (hair) + 梢 (tip of a branch), so it evokes the very ends.

noun
hair tipsends of hair
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 发梢。
    Tā de fà shāo yǒu xiē fēn chà le.
    Her hair tips are a bit split.
  • 发梢。
    Dìng qī xiū jiǎn fà shāo kě yǐ ràng tóu fa gèng jiàn kāng.
    Regularly trimming the ends of your hair can make it healthier.
  • 发梢。
    Zhè zhǒng hù fà yóu zhuān mén xiū fù shòu sǔn de fà shāo.
    This hair oil is specially for repairing damaged hair ends.

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.

发fāhair
梢shāotip

发 supplies hair, 梢 supplies tips, so the word means the ends of hair.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
肖
肖xiào梢shāo(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part of 梢 is 木, a tree; the right part is 肖, which gives the sound.

Open 梢 →

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