字头 (zì tóu) — (dictionary) head character, entry headword; (linguistics) initial consonant of a syllable; (character structure) top component of a character

Definition

A linguistics term with two technical senses: the top component of a Chinese character (the 'radical' on top, in 结构) and the initial consonant of a Pinyin syllable (the 声母). Also used in lexicography for the headword of a dictionary entry.

noun
(dictionary) head characterentry headword(linguistics) initial consonant of a syllable(character structure) top component of a character

Examples

  • 字头，。
    Zhè běn cí diǎn de zì tóu yòng hēi tǐ zì yìn shuā, fāng biàn chá zhǎo.
    The head characters in this dictionary are printed in bold for easy lookup.
  • ，字头，“b”“”字头。
    Zài hàn yǔ pīn yīn zhōng, zì tóu zhǐ shēng mǔ bù fen, bǐ rú "b" shì "bà" de zì tóu.
    In Hanyu Pinyin, 字头 refers to the initial consonant, for example 'b' is the initial of 'bà'.
  • 字头“⺮”，“”。
    Zhè ge hàn zì de zì tóu shì "⺮", xià miàn cái shì "máo".
    The top component of this character is '⺮', and below it is '毛'.

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.

字zìcharacter
头tóuhead

字 (character) and 头 (head) denote the leading character or top component.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
子
子zǐ字zì
Same sound today

字 pairs 宀 (roof) with 子 (child); 子 gives the sound, while 宀 relates to the meaning.

Open 字 →

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 →

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