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势头 (shì tou) — momentum, driving force; trend, tendency; situation, the way things are looking

Definition

势头 is a concrete 'momentum' or 'trend' you can see playing out (e.g. a project's, a match's, a market's). It differs from 趋势 (an abstract tendency) and 走势 (usually market/index movements).

noun
momentumdriving forcetrendtendencysituationthe way things are looking

Examples

  • 势头，。
    Zhè ge xīn xiàng mù de fā zhǎn shì tou hěn hǎo, gōng sī jué dìng jiā dà tóu zī.
    The development momentum of this new project is strong, so the company decided to increase investment.
  • 势头，。
    Xià bàn chǎng duì fāng de shì tou yuè lái yuè qiáng, wǒ men hěn nán fáng shǒu.
    In the second half, the opponent's momentum grew stronger and stronger, making it very hard for us to defend.
  • ，势头。
    Cóng zuì jìn de xiāo shòu shù zì lái kàn, jīng jì fù sū de shì tou hái bù míng lǎng.
    Judging from the latest sales figures, the trend of economic recovery is still unclear.

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.

势shìsituation
头tóu

势 (situation) and 头 together name the way things are trending.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 勢; 势 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìpower
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì勢shì
Same sound today

The traditional form 勢 combines 力, meaning power, with 埶 for the sound. The simplified 势 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 势 →

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 7-9Abstract Concepts

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