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死对头 (sǐ duì tóu) — sworn enemy, arch rival

Definition

A noun meaning 'sworn enemy / arch rival' — emphasizes a long-standing, personal hostility (not just professional competition). Colloquial and vivid; the literal 'death + opposite + head' reinforces the intensity.

noun
sworn enemyarch rival

Examples

  • 死对头。
    Tā men liǎ zài shēng yì shàng shì sǐ duì tóu.
    The two of them are sworn enemies in business.
  • 死对头。
    Tā zhōng yú dǎ bài le duō nián de sǐ duì tóu.
    He finally defeated his arch rival of many years.
  • 死对头。
    Zhè liǎng gè qiú duì yì zhí shì sǐ duì tóu.
    These two teams have always been arch rivals.

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.

死sǐdeadly
对头opponent
对duìopposing头tóuhead
偏正Modifier + head

死 conveys deadly intensity, and 对头 points to an opponent, so the whole means a sworn rival.

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
歹歹dǎi
Sound part声符shēngfú
尸
尸shī死sǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.

Open 死 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

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
Conflict & Agreement

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