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接头 (jiē tóu) — to connect; to join (e.g., wires, pipes); to contact; to get in touch with (often for a meeting or secret rendezvous); (colloquial) to know about; to be familiar with (usually in negative constructions like 接不上头)

Definition

接头 is a separable verb with three main uses: physically connecting things (wires, pipes), meeting or contacting someone (often for an appointment), and — colloquially in the negative — failing to recognize or make sense of something (接不上头).

verb
to connectto join (e.g., wires, pipes)to contactto get in touch with (often for a meeting or secret rendezvous)(colloquial) to know aboutto be familiar with (usually in negative constructions like 接不上头)

Examples

  • 接头。
    Zhè liǎng gēn guǎn zi xū yào jiē tóu cái néng tōng shuǐ.
    These two pipes need to be connected so that water can flow.
  • 接头，。
    Wǒ men zài kā fēi guǎn jiē tóu, rán hòu yì qǐ qù le shū diàn.
    We met at the cafe and then went to the bookstore together.
  • ，？
    Zhè ge àn hào wǒ jiē bú shàng tóu, nǐ néng jiě shì yí xià ma?
    I can't make sense of this secret signal — can you explain it?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

接jiēconnect
头tóuend

接头 combines 接 meaning connect and 头 meaning end to mean join the ends, then make contact.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
妾
妾qiè接jiē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, matching the sense of receiving something in the hand, while 妾 gives the character its sound.

Open 接 →

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
Communication & Speech

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