口头语 (kǒu tóu yǔ) — pet phrase; habitual expression; stock phrase; spoken (colloquial) language (versus written language)

Definition

口头语 has two related senses: a speaker's habitual catchphrase, and casual spoken language contrasted with 书面语 (written/formal Chinese).

noun
pet phrasehabitual expressionstock phrasespoken (colloquial) language (versus written language)

Examples

  • 口头语“”，。
    Tā de kǒu tóu yǔ shì "méi wèn tí", shén me dōu shuō méi wèn tí.
    His pet phrase is “no problem” — he says no problem about everything.
  • 口头语，。
    Xiě wén zhāng shí yào shǎo yòng kǒu tóu yǔ, duō yòng zhèng shì de shū miàn yǔ.
    When writing articles, you should use fewer colloquial expressions and more formal written language.
  • 口头语，口头语。
    Měi gè rén dōu yǒu zì jǐ de kǒu tóu yǔ, yǒu xiē rén de kǒu tóu yǔ hěn yǒu yì si.
    Everyone has their own pet phrase, and some people's pet phrases are very interesting.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

口头oral
口kǒumouth头tóusuffix
语yǔword

口头 “oral” with 语 “word” gives a spoken phrase.

Characters in this word

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

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 語; 语 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
吾
吾wú語yǔ
Same sound today

The form 語 pairs 言 (speech) with 吾, which gives the sound; this note is about 語, not 语.

Open 语 →

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