摔跟头 (shuāi gēn tou) — (literal) to fall down, to trip and fall; (figurative) to suffer a setback, to make a costly mistake

Definition

A vivid verb meaning 'to fall down' (literally) or 'to suffer a setback' (figuratively) — often used as 摔过跟头 to mean 'have learned the hard way'.

verb
(literal) to fall downto trip and fall(figurative) to suffer a setbackto make a costly mistake

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā zǒu lù méi zhù yì, shuāi le yí gè dà gēn tou.
    He wasn't paying attention while walking and took a hard fall.
  • ，。
    Wǒ zài nà jiàn shì shàng shuāi guò gēn tou, hòu lái jiù xiǎo xīn duō le.
    I made a mistake on that matter before, and after that I've been much more careful.
  • 摔跟头，。
    Zuò tóu zī hěn róng yì shuāi gēn tou, yí dìng yào jǐn shèn.
    It's very easy to trip up in investing; you must be cautious.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

摔shuāifall
跟头tumble
跟gēn头tóu

摔 'fall' and 跟头 'tumble' combine for tripping and falling, literally or figuratively.

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
率
率lǜ摔shuāi
Same sound today

In 摔, the 手 part points to a hand action, and the 率 part supplies the sound.

Open 摔 →

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
足足zúfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn跟gēn
Same sound today

跟 is built from 足 (foot) plus 艮. The 足 part ties the character to foot-related senses, while 艮 gives the sound.

Open 跟 →

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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