TongTong
Sign in

头像 (tóu xiàng) — profile picture, avatar (on social media, apps, etc.); head portrait, bust (sculpture or painting)

Definition

In modern Chinese, 头像 almost always means the small profile picture or avatar you set on a social app or forum. The older 'head portrait / bust' sense (museum sculpture, painted bust) is rare and formal.

noun
profile pictureavatar (on social media, apps, etc.)head portraitbust (sculpture or painting)
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 头像。
    Qǐng bǎ nǐ de tóu xiàng huàn chéng yì zhāng qīng xī de zhào piàn.
    Please change your profile picture to a clear photo.
  • 头像。
    Zhè ge wǎng zhàn yāo qiú yòng hù shàng chuán zhēn shí tóu xiàng.
    This website requires users to upload a real profile picture.
  • 头像。
    Bó wù guǎn lǐ chén liè zhe jǐ zūn gǔ dài rén wù tóu xiàng.
    The museum displays several ancient head portraits.

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.

头tóuhead
像xiàngimage

Head and image give a portrait of the head.

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.

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 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
象
象xiàng像
Same sound today

像 uses 亻, the side form of 人 (person), with 象 giving the sound.

Open 像 →
Appears in
Photography & Design

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.