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埋头 (mái tóu) — to bury oneself in (work/study), to be engrossed in

Definition

A separable verb meaning to bury oneself in (work or study) with intense focus. It pairs with activities like 工作 and 学习, and is stronger than 专心 ('to concentrate').

verb
to bury oneself in (work/study)to be engrossed in

Examples

  • 埋头，。
    Tā zhěng tiān mái tóu gōng zuò, lián fàn dōu wàng le chī.
    He buries himself in work all day and even forgets to eat.
  • ，。
    Tā mái zhe tóu kàn shū, méi zhù yì dào wǒ jìn lái le.
    She was buried in her book, head down, and didn't notice I came in.
  • ，埋头。
    Wèi le kǎo shì, tā mái tóu kǔ dú le sān gè yuè.
    He buried himself in hard study for three months to prepare for the exam.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

埋máibury
头tóuhead

埋 (bury) and 头 (head) picture burying oneself in work.

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎoplant
Sound part声符shēngfú
貍
貍lí埋mái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An earlier form paired 艹 (plant) with 貍 (lí) for sound. The form 埋 later shows earth with a sound part.

Open 埋 →

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
Workplace & Office

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