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转头 (zhuān tóu) — to turn one's head; to change direction; to make a U-turn; (figurative) to repent, to reform

Definition

Literally 'turn head', 转头 means to turn around or change direction, and by extension to repent. Compare 掉头 (U-turn while driving) and 回头 (turn back / change one's mind, more abstract).

verb
to turn one's headto change directionto make a U-turn(figurative) to repentto reform

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā tīng dào shēng yīn, zhuǎn le yí xià tóu.
    He heard a sound and turned his head.
  • ，。
    Zhè tiáo lù bù néng diào tóu, zhǐ néng zài qián biān zhuǎn gè tóu.
    You can't make a U-turn on this road; you can only turn around up ahead.
  • ，转头。
    Tā jīng lì le zhè cì jiào xùn, zhōng yú zhuān tóu le.
    After this lesson, he finally repented and changed his ways.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

转zhuǎnturn
头tóuhead

转 'turn' acts on 头 'head', meaning to turn one's head.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 轉; 转 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān轉zhuǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 轉 combines 車, a carriage, with 專 as a sound part; the simplified 转 is a later shorthand.

Open 转 →

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
Change & ProcessDirections

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