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碰头 (pèng tóu) — to meet and briefly discuss, to have a short meeting; (literally) to bump one's head

Definition

碰头 is a colloquial verb meaning to meet up briefly to talk something over — typically a quick, informal meeting (a 头, short for 头 face/head, gives it the casual flavor). It is a 离合词: insert 一下 or a measure phrase like 个 between 碰 and 头 (e.g., 碰个头).

verb
to meet and briefly discussto have a short meeting(literally) to bump one's head

Examples

  • 碰头，。
    Wǒ men měi tiān zǎo shàng xiān pèng tóu yí xià, zài kāi shǐ gōng zuò.
    We have a quick meeting every morning before starting work.
  • ，。
    Xià wǔ sān diǎn nǐ men pèng gè tóu, shāng liáng yí xià fāng àn.
    Get together at 3 p.m. and discuss the plan.
  • 碰头。
    Tā jìn mén shí bù xiǎo xīn pèng tóu zài mén kuàng shàng le.
    He accidentally bumped his head on the door frame when entering.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

碰pèngbump
头tóuhead

“碰” means bump and “头” means head, so people bump heads together and meet briefly.

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
石石shírock
Sound part声符shēngfú
並
並bìng碰pèng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

碰 is built from 石 (rock) and 並 (bìng); 石 shows the meaning, and 並 shows the sound.

Open 碰 →

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
Communication & SpeechFriends & Social

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