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头号 (tóu hào) — number one, top, first-rate

Definition

头号 means 'number-one / top-ranked' in a set (e.g. 头号嫌疑犯 'number-one suspect', 头号种子 'top seed'). It marks ranking or prominence, while 一流 and 顶级 describe the quality of a thing.

adjective
number onetopfirst-rate

Examples

  • 头号。
    Zhè shì jīn tiān de tóu hào xīn wén.
    This is today's top news.
  • 头号。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài zhuī bǔ tóu hào xián yí fàn.
    The police are hunting for the number one suspect.
  • 头号。
    Tā shì zhè cì bǐ sài de tóu hào zhǒng zi xuǎn shǒu.
    He is the top seed in this competition.

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.

头tóufirst
号hàonumber

头 means 'first' and 号 means 'number', giving the idea of number one.

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 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 →

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

  • 口口kǒumouth
  • 丂丂kǎoexhaled air; a tiger's cry

The shape 号 comes from 口, a mouth, and 丂, exhaled air or a tiger's cry.

Open 号 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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