钟头 (zhōng tóu) — hour (colloquial) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

钟头 means 'hour' in everyday speech. It is more colloquial than 小时 (the neutral, standard word) — avoid it in formal writing. 时 is used only after a number (三点时).

noun

hour (colloquial)

Measure word · 个

Examples

钟头。
Wǒ děng nǐ děng le yí gè zhōng tóu.
I waited for you for an hour.
钟头。
Tā měi tiān gōng zuò bā gè zhōng tóu.
He works eight hours a day.
钟头。
Zhè bù diàn yǐng yǒu liǎng gè zhōng tóu cháng.
This movie is two hours long.

Origin

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.

钟 names a clock, and 头 completes the colloquial word for an hour.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Time of Day

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