脑袋 (nǎo dai) — (colloquial) head; (figurative) brains, mind, m…

Definition

Colloquial, everyday word for 'head' and (figuratively) 'brains/mind'. More spoken than 头脑 and more casual than 大脑, which refers to the physical organ.

noun

(colloquial) head(figurative) brainsmindmental capability

Measure word · 颗, 个

Examples

脑袋。
Wǒ de nǎo dai zhuàng dào mén shàng le.
My head hit the door.
脑袋，。
Tā nǎo dai zhuàn dé hěn kuài, zǒng néng xiǎng chū hǎo bàn fǎ.
His mind turns very fast; he can always think of good solutions.
脑袋。
Zhè ge wèn tí ràng wǒ nǎo dai dōu dà le.
This problem is giving me a headache (literally: makes my head big).

Origin

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

脑nǎobrain

袋dàisuffix

脑 ('brain') combines with 袋 to form the colloquial word for head.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 腦; 脑 is its simplified writing.

匕匕bǐ
巛巛chuānhair
囟囟xìnhead; fontanel

In the traditional form 腦, the older part 匕 was replaced by a flesh part, while 巛 (hair) and 囟 (head; fontanel) stayed. The simplified 脑 is a later abbreviation.

Open 脑 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

代衣袋

Meaning part形符xíngfú

衣衣yīclothes

Sound part声符shēngfú

代

代dài袋dài

Same sound today

袋 combines 衣 (clothes) with 代, where 衣 gives the meaning and 代 gives the sound.

Open 袋 →

Appears in