肩头 (jiān tóu) — shoulder; the top of the shoulder

Definition

noun

shoulderthe top of the shoulder

Measure word · 个

肩头。
Tā pāi le pāi wǒ de jiān tóu.
He patted me on the shoulder.
肩头。
Tā de jiān tóu shàng bēi zhe yí gè dà bāo.
She was carrying a big bag on her shoulder.
肩头。
Lǎo rén bǎ xíng li káng zài jiān tóu shàng.
The old man carried the luggage on his shoulder.

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.

肩 names the shoulder, and 头 completes the common name for that body area.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

肩 combines a shoulder shape with a flesh part to show a shoulder.

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.

豆頁頭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

豆

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.

Appears in