磕头 (kē tóu) — to kowtow (kneel and touch forehead to ground as a sign of respect, worship, or apology)

Definition

磕头 (kē tóu) is a separable verb meaning to kowtow — to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground. It is a traditional gesture of deep respect, worship, or apology, seen in rituals and historical contexts.

verb
to kowtow (kneel and touch forehead to ground as a sign of respect, worship, or apology)

Examples

  • 。
    Tā zài fó xiàng qián kē le sān gè tóu.
    He kowtowed three times before the Buddha statue.
  • 磕头。
    Gǔ dài chén zǐ jiàn dào huáng dì yào kē tóu.
    In ancient times, officials had to kowtow when they saw the emperor.
  • ，磕头。
    Hūn lǐ shàng, xīn rén yào gěi fù mǔ kē tóu.
    At the wedding, the newlyweds kowtow to their parents.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

磕kēknock
头tóuhead

'磕' means to knock and '头' the head, together describing touching the forehead to the ground.

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shístone
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé磕kē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

磕 is built from 石 (stone) plus 盍, a part that supplies the sound hé.

Open 磕 →

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 →

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