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头等 (tóu děng) — first-class, top-tier, best quality

Definition

Literally 'top-grade': used for the highest quality (头等舱 'first-class cabin') and figuratively for the most important thing (头等大事 'top priority'). A set-phrase / bound modifier, not a plain adjective.

first-classtop-tierbest quality

Examples

  • 。
    Tā mǎi le liǎng zhāng tóu děng cāng de jī piào.
    He bought two first-class tickets.
  • 头等。
    Ān quán shì qǐ yè de tóu děng dà shì.
    Safety is the top priority for the company.
  • 头等。
    Zhè cì lǚ xíng wǒ xuǎn zé le tóu děng.
    I chose first class for this trip.

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tóufirst/head
等děngclass/rank

头 means first/head and 等 means class/rank, so 头等 is first-class.

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
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì等děng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 竹 shows bamboo strips used for writing and sorting; the bottom 寺 once gave the sound, but now sounds different.

Open 等 →
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