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头套 (tóu tào) — head covering; hairpiece; wig (often used by actors or in disguise); balaclava; ski mask (a knitted cover for the head and neck)

Definition

A head cover worn on the face or head — covers a wig, balaclava, ski mask, or costume hood. Distinguish from 帽子 (hats) and 假发 (hair-only wigs): 头套 covers the head and may hide the face.

noun
head coveringhairpiecewig (often used by actors or in disguise)balaclavaski mask (a knitted cover for the head and neck)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 头套。
    Yǎn yuán shàng tái qián dài shàng le yì dǐng tóu tào.
    The actor put on a wig before going on stage.
  • ，。
    Dōng tiān tài lěng, tā dài le gè tóu tào zhī lù chū yǎn jing.
    It was so cold in winter that he wore a balaclava with only his eyes showing.
  • 头套，。
    Diàn yǐng lǐ nà ge jué sè dài zhe hēi sè tóu tào, kàn qǐ lái hěn shén mì.
    That character in the movie wore a black head covering and looked very mysterious.

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
套tàocovering

头 gives the idea of the head, and 套 gives a covering, together meaning a head covering.

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 →

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

  • 大大dàlarge
  • 長長chánglong

套 is made from 大 (large) and 長 (long), originally for something long, with some reference to hair; it later came to mean a cover or a linked group.

Open 套 →
Appears in
Clothing

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