TongTong
Sign in

矛头 (máo tóu) — (figurative) the target or direction of an attack or criticism; spearhead

Definition

Literally 'spearhead', 矛头 is used figuratively to mean the direction or target of criticism or attack. The 把 construction (把矛头指向…) is the most common pattern: 'to direct criticism at'.

noun
(figurative) the target or direction of an attack or criticismspearhead

Examples

  • 矛头。
    Dà jiā bǎ máo tóu zhǐ xiàng le gōng sī de gāo céng.
    Everyone directed their criticism at the company's top management.
  • 矛头。
    Zhè piān bào dào de máo tóu shì zhèng fǔ de xīn zhèng cè.
    The spearhead of this report is the government's new policy.
  • 矛头，。
    Miàn duì yú lùn de máo tóu, tā bù dé bú dào qiàn.
    Faced with the spearhead of public opinion, he had to apologize.

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.

矛máospear
头tóutip

矛 names the spear and 头 the tip, together pointing to the leading edge of an attack.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 矛 →

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 7-9Military & Defense

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.