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头颅 (tóu lú) — head (formal or literary); skull

Definition

Literary/formal word for 'head' (often the skull), used in writing, news, and set phrases like 抛头颅. The everyday word is 头; 脑袋 is casual spoken. Mostly seen in HSK 7 reading.

noun
head (formal or literary)skull
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 头颅，。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le bìng rén de tóu lú, méi yǒu fā xiàn yì cháng.
    The doctor examined the patient's head and found no abnormalities.
  • 头颅。
    Kǎo gǔ xué jiā fā xiàn le yí jù wán zhěng de tóu lú huà shí.
    The archaeologist discovered a complete skull fossil.
  • ，、。
    Zhàn shì men zài zhàn chǎng shàng yù xuè fèn zhàn, bù xī pāo tóu lú, sǎ rè xuè.
    The soldiers fought fiercely on the battlefield, not hesitating to shed their blood.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

头tóuhead
颅lúskull

头 and 颅 both point to the skull or upper part of the body, so the word names that part.

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 →

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 顱; 颅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
盧
盧lú顱lú
Same sound today

The traditional form 顱 combines 頁, meaning head, with 盧, which gives the sound; the simplified 颅 is a later shorthand.

Open 颅 →
Appears in
Body Parts

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