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重头戏 (zhòng tóu xì) — the most important part; highlight; main event

Definition

A metaphor from Chinese opera: the 'heaviest, most anticipated act' — the highlight or pivotal part of a performance, project, or event. Use it to signal where the real focus or climax lies.

noun
the most important parthighlightmain event

Examples

  • ，重头戏。
    Jīn wǎn de wǎn huì, zhòng tóu xì shì tā de dú chàng.
    The main event of tonight's party is her solo.
  • 重头戏，。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù de zhòng tóu xì bú shì jì shù kāi fā, ér shì shì chǎng tuī guǎng.
    The key part of this project is not technical development but marketing.
  • ，重头戏。
    Zuò wéi yí bù huà jù, zhòng tóu xì tōng cháng zài dì sān mù chū xiàn.
    As a play, the highlight usually appears in the third act.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

重头main/important
重zhòngimportant头tóuchief/leading
联合Coordinate
戏xìplay

重 and 头 both point to the main or important part, and 戏 is a play, so it means a highlight.

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
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng重zhòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Open 重 →

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 →

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 戲; 戏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gēhalberd
Sound part声符shēngfú
䖒
䖒䖒戲xì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 戲, the shape combines 戈 (halberd) with 䖒, which gives the sound; the word originally meant an army's wing or flank. The simplified 戏 is a later shorthand, not the form described here.

Open 戏 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsFilm & Theater

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