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打头 (dǎ tóu) — to take the lead, to be the first to start

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to be first, to lead off' — often paired with 阵, 第一个, or 头 itself (打头阵, 打头炮) to mean leading the charge. Closer to spoken 'take the lead' than the more formal 带头/领头.

verb
to take the leadto be the first to start

Examples

  • 打头。
    Zhè cì huó dòng nǐ lái dǎ tóu ba.
    You take the lead for this event.
  • ，。
    Tā dǎ le tóu, dà jiā jiù gēn zhe zuò le.
    He took the lead, and everyone followed suit.
  • 打头。
    Zài zhè chǎng bǐ sài zhōng tā dǎ tóu.
    He took the lead in this competition.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

打dǎstrike
头tóufront

打头 joins 打 and 头, where 头 is the front or first place, giving the idiomatic sense of leading the way.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

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
Order & Arrangement

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