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苗头 (miáo tou) — early signs, indications (of a developing situation, often negative)

Definition

苗头 (miáotou) means the early, small sign that something is starting to develop — usually something negative. Compared to 兆头, which is a more general omen or portent, 苗头 focuses on the very first, often warning, hint of a developing situation.

noun
early signsindications (of a developing situation, often negative)

Examples

  • ，苗头。
    Tā zuì jìn chí dào zǎo tuì, zhè ge miáo tou bú tài hǎo.
    He's been arriving late and leaving early lately — that's not a good sign.
  • 苗头，。
    Jīng jì shàng chū xiàn le tōng huò péng zhàng de miáo tou, zhèng fǔ bì xū cǎi qǔ cuò shī.
    Early signs of inflation have appeared in the economy, and the government must take measures.
  • 苗头，。
    Lǎo shī fā xiàn xué shēng yǒu yàn xué de miáo tou, jí shí hé jiā zhǎng gōu tōng.
    The teacher noticed early signs of students losing interest in studying and communicated with parents in time.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

It is made from 艸 (grass) and 田 (field), showing plants in a field, which matches the meaning of a young plant or seedling.

Open 苗 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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