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尽头 (jìn tóu) — end; limit

Definition

尽头 means a physical end or limit of something with extent (a road, tunnel, patience). 结尾 is for stories/films; 终点 is a journey's destination or finish line.

noun
endlimit
Easily confused

Examples

  • 尽头。
    Zhè tiáo hú tòng de jìn tóu yǒu yì kē dà shù.
    There is a big tree at the end of this alley.
  • 尽头。
    Tā de nài xīn yǐ jīng dào le jìn tóu.
    His patience has reached its limit.
  • 尽头。
    Zǒu dào zhè tiáo lù de jìn tóu jiù néng kàn jiàn hǎi le.
    You can see the sea when you reach the end of this road.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

尽jìnend
头tóuend

“尽” (end) and “头” (end) reinforce each other to mean the end point.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盡; 尽 is its simplified writing.

  • 聿聿yùhand holding a brush
  • 灬灬huǒbristles
  • 皿皿mǐndish

The traditional form 盡 shows 聿 (hand holding a brush) and 灬 (bristles) over 皿 (dish), cleaning a dish until it is empty. The simplified 尽 is a shorthand, not those historical parts.

Open 尽 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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