排头 (pái tóu) — person at the front of a line or procession; leader of a file (in military or marching formation); pacesetter; leader (figurative)

Definition

Literally 'head of the row', 排头 means the person at the front of a line or the leading figure of a group — a pacesetter or leader by position rather than by rank.

noun
person at the front of a line or processionleader of a file (in military or marching formation)pacesetterleader (figurative)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，排头。
    Duì wu chū fā shí, pái tóu dì yī gè zǒu.
    When the team sets off, the leader is the first to go.
  • 排头。
    Tā zài xué xiào duì liè lǐ zǒng shì zhàn zài pái tóu.
    He always stands at the front of the line in the school formation.
  • 排头。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù xū yào yí wèi pái tóu lái dài dòng dà jiā.
    This project needs a pacesetter to drive everyone forward.

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.

排páirow
头tóufront

排头 is the front of a 排, so it means the leader of a file or procession.

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
非
非fēi排pái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

排 uses 扌 (hand) to show arranging something with the hand, and 非 for the sound; this gives the sense of placing things in a line.

Open 排 →

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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