甩头 (shuǎi tóu) — to fling back one's head, to toss one's head (often expressing disdain or impatience)

Definition

A vivid verb meaning to toss or fling back one's head, usually to flip the hair or to show impatience/disdain. Common in the pattern 甩了一下头.

verb
to fling back one's headto toss one's head (often expressing disdain or impatience)

Examples

  • 甩头，。
    Tā shēng qì dì shuǎi tóu, zhuǎn shēn jiù zǒu le.
    She angrily tossed her head and turned to leave.
  • ，。
    Tā shuǎi le yí xià tóu, bǎ tóu fa shuǎi dào hòu miàn.
    He tossed his head once, flipping his hair back.
  • ，甩头。
    Tīng dào zhè ge jiàn yì, tā zhǐ shì shuǎi tóu xiào le xiào.
    Hearing the suggestion, he just tossed his head and smiled.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

甩shuǎifling
头tóuhead

To fling or toss the head, often showing disdain or impatience.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 甩 →

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 →

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