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出头 (chū tóu) — to get out of a predicament; to overcome difficulties; to step forward; to take the lead (in dealing with something); (used after a number) a little more than; just over

Definition

出头 is a colloquial verb with three distinct senses: 'to get out of trouble' (e.g. 熬出头), 'to step forward' (less formal than 带头 or 率先), and 'a little over' after a number (compare 强).

verb
to get out of a predicamentto overcome difficultiesto step forwardto take the lead (in dealing with something)(used after a number) a little more thanjust over

Examples

  • ，出头。
    Tā chī le hěn duō kǔ, zhōng yú áo chū tóu le.
    He endured a lot of hardship and finally got through it.
  • 出头，。
    Zhè jiàn shì méi rén gǎn chū tóu, zhǐ yǒu tā zhàn le chū lái.
    No one dared to step forward for this matter; only he stood up.
  • 出头，。
    Tā jīn nián sì shí chū tóu, kàn qǐ lái hái hěn nián qīng.
    He is just over forty this year, but still looks very young.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

出chūcome out
头tóutop of the body

“出” means coming out, “头” is the top of the body, together they picture lifting the top to emerge, take the lead, or be a little more.

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 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Success & Failure

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