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木头 (mù tou) — wood, timber, log; (figurative) blockhead, slow-witted person

Definition

木头 means a piece of wood or log (the material); 木材 is the same idea but used as an uncountable mass noun, like 'timber' in bulk. As 'blockhead' it's a casual insult, weaker and less harsh than 笨.

noun
woodtimberlog(figurative) blockheadslow-witted person
Measure word · 块, 根

Examples

  • 木头。
    Wǒ yòng yí kuài mù tou zuò le yí gè xiǎo zhuō zi.
    I used a piece of wood to make a small table.
  • 木头，。
    Tā zhēn shì gè mù tou, zhè me jiǎn dān dōu bú huì.
    He's really a blockhead — can't even do something so simple.
  • 木头，。
    Zhè gēn mù tou tài cháng le, fàng bú jìn chē lǐ.
    This log is too long to fit in the car.

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.

木mùwood
头tóulight ending

The 木 part means wood, and 头 only completes the word.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

木 is drawn as a tree, with branches above and roots below.

Open 木 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Materials & Substances5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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