教头 (jiào tóu) — head instructor, chief coach (especially in martial arts or traditional skills)

Definition

A traditional, literary term for the top instructor of a martial arts or military training group, suggesting seniority and tradition rather than a modern sports coach.

noun
head instructorchief coach (especially in martial arts or traditional skills)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 教头。
    Zhè wèi jiào tóu jiào le wǒ men hěn duō gōng fu jì qiǎo.
    This head instructor taught us many kung fu techniques.
  • 教头，。
    Tā shì wǒ men wǔ shù duì de jiào tóu, jīng yàn fēi cháng fēng fù.
    He is the head coach of our martial arts team, with very rich experience.
  • 教头。
    Gǔ dài jūn duì lǐ de jiào tóu fù zé xùn liàn shì bīng.
    In ancient armies, the chief military instructor was responsible for training soldiers.

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.

教jiàoinstruct
头tóuchief

教 means instruct and 头 means chief, giving a chief instructor.

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
子子zǐchild
攵Written in full as攴pūteaching cane; stick that represents authority
Sound part声符shēngfú
爻
爻yáo教jiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

教 uses 爻 for its sound and puts 子 (child) with 攵 (攴), a teaching cane, to show teaching a child.

Open 教 →

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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