头彩 (tóu cǎi) — first prize (in a lottery or contest) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

头彩 specifically means the top prize in a lottery drawing — the literal 'first lot,' tied to luck and games of chance, not the top award in a competition (that's 冠军 or 一等奖).

noun

first prize (in a lottery or contest)

Examples

头彩。
Tā mǎi de cǎi piào zhōng le tóu cǎi.
He won the first prize in the lottery ticket he bought.
头彩。
Zhè cì bǐ sài de yī děng jiǎng jiù shì tóu cǎi.
The first prize in this competition is the top prize.
头彩。
Hěn duō rén dōu xī wàng zì jǐ néng zhōng tóu cǎi.
Many people hope they can win the first prize.

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 gives the first rank, and 彩 gives the prize, naming the top lottery award.

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.

豆頁頭

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

采彡彩

Meaning part形符xíngfú

彡彡shān

Sound part声符shēngfú

采

采cǎi彩cǎi

Same sound today

彩 puts 采, which gives the sound, next to 彡, the three-stroke mark that carries the meaning.

Appears in

Gambling & Chance

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