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理发 (lǐ fà) — to have a haircut; to cut hair (of a hairdresser or barber)

Definition

A separable verb meaning 'to cut hair' or 'to get a haircut' — split as 理…发 (e.g. 理过一次发). As a noun, 头发 means 'hair'; 理发 focuses on the act of cutting.

verb
to have a haircutto cut hair (of a hairdresser or barber)

Examples

  • 理发。
    Wǒ xiǎng qù lǐ fà.
    I want to get a haircut.
  • 。
    Tā zuó tiān lǐ le yí cì fā.
    He had a haircut yesterday.
  • 理发？
    Nǐ lǐ fà huā le duō shǎo qián?
    How much did you spend on your haircut?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

理lǐmanage
发fāhair

'理' (manage) and '发' (hair) combine to mean cut hair.

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ理lǐ
Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Open 理 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Hygiene & Grooming

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