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水龙头 (shuǐ lóng tóu) — faucet, tap

Definition

Literally 'water dragon head' — the everyday spoken word for 'faucet/tap.' Unlike bare 龙头, which also means a bike handlebar or industry leader, 水龙头 is always the plumbing fixture.

noun
faucettap
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 水龙头。
    Qǐng bǎ rè shuǐ shuǐ lóng tóu dǎ kāi.
    Please turn on the hot water faucet.
  • 水龙头。
    Zhè ge shuǐ lóng tóu xū yào xiū lǐ.
    This faucet needs to be repaired.
  • 水龙头。
    Jì de yòng wán shuǐ lóng tóu hòu guān jǐn.
    Remember to tighten the faucet after using it.

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.

水shuǐwater
龙头dragon spout
龙lóngdragon头tóuhead
偏正Modifier + head

水 (“water”) and 龙头 (“dragon spout”) name a faucet.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 龍; 龙 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 龍 originally drew a sacred creature with a large mouth and a snake-like body; the simplified 龙 is the form written here.

Open 龙 →

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 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Home & Housing

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