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墙头草 (qiáng tóu cǎo) — (figurative) fence-sitter, someone who goes with the stronger side; (literal) grass on top of a wall (easily swayed by the wind)

Definition

A figurative insult for a fence-sitter — someone who switches sides to whoever has more power, with no fixed loyalty. Literally 'grass on top of a wall,' easily blown whichever way the wind blows.

noun
(figurative) fence-sitter, someone who goes with the stronger side(literal) grass on top of a wall (easily swayed by the wind)

Examples

  • 墙头草，。
    Tā zài zhè cì xuǎn jǔ zhōng jiù shì yì gēn qiáng tóu cǎo, shuí qiáng jiù zhī chí shuí.
    In this election, he is a fence-sitter, supporting whoever is stronger.
  • 墙头草，。
    Bié zuò qiáng tóu cǎo le, nǐ yīng gāi yǒu zì jǐ de lì chǎng.
    Don't be a fence-sitter; you should have your own stance.
  • ，墙头草。
    Zài gōng zuò zhōng, tā bèi rén qǐ le gè wài háo jiào qiáng tóu cǎo.
    At work, he got the nickname 'fence-sitter'.

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.

墙头
墙qiángwall头tóutop
偏正Modifier + head
草cǎograss

墙头 means wall-top and 草 means grass; grass on a wall sways, so it describes a fence-sitter.

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 牆; 墙 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
嗇嗇sèwheat in a granary
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán牆qiáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 牆, 爿 gives the sound and 嗇, showing wheat in a granary, gives the wall meaning. The simplified 墙 is a later short form.

Open 墙 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
早
早zǎo草cǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

Open 草 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesPersonality & Traits

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