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毛头 (máo tóu) — youngster; child

Definition

毛头 is an informal, mildly colloquial word for a young kid or teenager — often used with a hint of 'naive, green' (毛头小子 = a green young fellow). It implies immaturity, not just age.

noun
youngsterchild
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 毛头。
    Nà ge máo tóu xiǎo hái zhēn kě ài.
    That little youngster is really cute.
  • 毛头。
    Yì qún máo tóu xiǎo zi zài cāo chǎng shàng tī qiú.
    A bunch of young lads are playing soccer on the playground.
  • 毛头，。
    Tā hái shì gè máo tóu, bù dǒng zhè xiē shì.
    He's still a youngster; he doesn't understand these things.

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.

毛máodowny
头tóuhead/person

毛 (downy) + 头 (person) suggests a young person with downy hair.

Characters in this word

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

毛 is drawn as a feather or hair, with its strokes tracing the shape of the feather or hair.

Open 毛 →

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
Life Stages & AgePeople (General)

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