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头脑 (tóu nǎo) — brains, mind, intelligence; leader, chief, the brains (of an organization)

Definition

头脑 covers both 'brains/mind' (intelligence) and 'the leader of a group'. 脑子 is the same intelligence sense but more colloquial and physical; 老板 is purely the business sense 'boss'.

noun
brainsmindintelligenceleaderchiefthe brains (of an organization)

Examples

  • 头脑。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù xū yào cōng ming tóu nǎo de rén lái lǐng dǎo.
    This project needs someone with a smart mind to lead.
  • 头脑，。
    Tā shì wǒ men tuán duì de tóu nǎo, suǒ yǒu jué dìng dōu tīng tā de.
    She is the brains of our team; all decisions listen to her.
  • 头脑，。
    Wǒ wán quán mō bù zháo tóu nǎo, bù zhī dào tā zài shuō shén me.
    I can't make head or tail of it; I don't know what he's saying.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

头tóuhead
脑nǎobrain

头 and 脑 name the skull and brain, so it can mean mind or chief person.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 腦; 脑 is its simplified writing.

  • 匕匕bǐ
  • 巛巛chuānhair
  • 囟囟xìnhead; fontanel

In the traditional form 腦, the older part 匕 was replaced by a flesh part, while 巛 (hair) and 囟 (head; fontanel) stayed. The simplified 脑 is a later abbreviation.

Open 脑 →
Appears in
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