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派头 (pài tóu) — style, panache, air (of being impressive or putting on a show)

Definition

Refers to someone's visible style or air of impressiveness — often the showy kind, as in 'putting on airs' (摆派头). At HSK 7 it leans toward the sense of a striking, larger-than-life presence rather than everyday appearance.

noun
stylepanacheair (of being impressive or putting on a show)

Examples

  • ，派头。
    Tā zǒu jìn huì yì shì de shí hou, xiǎn de hěn yǒu pài tóu.
    When he walked into the meeting room, he looked very impressive.
  • 派头，。
    Bié bǎi pài tóu le, dà jiā dōu hěn liǎo jiě nǐ.
    Stop putting on airs—everyone knows you well.
  • 派头。
    Zhè wèi dǎo yǎn de pài tóu ràng zhěng gè jù zǔ dōu pèi fú.
    The director's panache impressed the whole crew.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

派pàistyle
头tóusuffix

派 supplies the idea of style, and 头 completes the word for an outward manner.

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
水水shuǐwater; river
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂢
𠂢𠂢派pài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

派 is built from 水 (water/river) and 𠂢. 𠂢 gives the sound, and 水 was added later to tell the character apart from the older form.

Open 派 →

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
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