TongTong
Sign in

出人头地 (chū rén tóu dì) — to stand out from the crowd, to rise above others, to achieve great success or prominence

Definition

An idiom meaning to stand out and rise to a prominent position through one's own effort — the focus is on personal achievement and recognition, not just being different.

idiom
to stand out from the crowd, to rise above others, to achieve great success or prominence

Examples

  • ，出人头地。
    Tā cóng xiǎo nǔ lì xué xí, xī wàng jiāng lái néng chū rén tóu dì.
    He has studied hard since childhood, hoping to rise above others in the future.
  • 出人头地。
    Fù mǔ dōu pàn wàng zì jǐ de hái zi chū rén tóu dì.
    All parents hope their children will achieve great success.
  • ，出人头地。
    Zài zhè ge jìng zhēng jī liè de háng yè, yào xiǎng chū rén tóu dì bìng bù róng yì.
    In this highly competitive industry, it's not easy to stand out from the crowd.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesSuccess & Failure

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.