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当头 (dāng tóu) — (colloquial) something pawned; a pawned item

Definition

当头 (dāngtou) is a colloquial noun for a pawned item — the thing you put up as collateral, not the act of pawning itself. The verb 'to pawn' is the related 当 (dàng).

noun
(colloquial) something pawneda pawned item
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 当头。
    Zhè ge dāng tóu shì péng you gěi wǒ de.
    This pawned item was given to me by a friend.
  • ，当头。
    Tā dāng le hěn duō dōng xī, jiā lǐ de dāng tóu yuè lái yuè duō.
    He pawned a lot of things; there are more and more pawned items at home.
  • 当头，。
    Zhè ge dāng tóu bù zhí qián, bié dāng le.
    This pawned item isn't valuable; don't pawn it.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

当dāngpawn
头tóuthing

当 supplies the pawn idea, and 头 points to the thing pawned.

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 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng當dāng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

Open 当 →

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 →
Appears in
Finance & Banking

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