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噱头 (xué tóu) — gimmick; stunt; trick used to get laughs or attention

Definition

噱头 (xuétou) is a showy trick, stunt, or gag — the 'gimmick' itself, usually in a performance, joke, or ad. The examples show it can be empty or annoying when overused: an ad's 噱头 can feel exaggerated rather than genuinely funny.

noun
gimmickstunttrick used to get laughs or attention
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 噱头，。
    Tā biǎo yǎn de shí hou yòng le hěn duō xué tóu, guān zhòng xiào dé hěn kāi xīn.
    He used a lot of gimmicks in his performance, and the audience laughed happily.
  • 噱头，。
    Zhè ge guǎng gào de xué tóu tài kuā zhāng le, fǎn ér ràng rén fǎn gǎn.
    The gimmick in this ad is too exaggerated; instead it makes people dislike it.
  • ，噱头。
    Tā de xiào hua lǐ méi shén me zhēn zhèng de yōu mò, quán kào xué tóu.
    His jokes don't have much real humor; they rely entirely on gimmicks.

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.

噱juéjoke/laugh
头tóuthing-forming ending

噱 points to a joke or laugh, and 头 names the thing itself, giving a gimmick meant to amuse.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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
Marketing & Sales

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