鼻头 (bí tóu) — (regional, dialectal) nose; tip of the nose

Definition

Literally 'nose tip,' but in many northern and regional dialects it's the everyday word for the whole nose. The standard term is 鼻子.

noun

(regional, dialectal) nosetip of the nose

Measure word · 个

鼻头。
Tā de bí tóu shàng yǒu yì kē zhì.
He has a mole on his nose.
鼻头。
Tā lěng dé bí tóu dōu hóng le.
She was so cold her nose turned red.
鼻头。
Zhè ge lǎo rén zài yòng fāng yán shuō bí tóu bù shū fu.
This old person is saying in dialect that his nose feels uncomfortable.

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.

鼻 points to the nose; 头 adds no independent sense here.

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.

自畀鼻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

自自zìnose

Sound part声符shēngfú

畀

畀bì鼻bí

Same sound today

鼻 pairs 自, meaning nose, with 畀, which gives the sound.

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.