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调头 (diào tóu) — to turn around (direction/body/vehicle); to change direction or topic; to change one's mind

Definition

调头 (diào tóu) means to reverse direction — literally 'flip the head' — used for vehicles making a U-turn or for changing one's mind or topic, unlike a simple 转弯 which is just turning a corner.

verb
to turn around (direction/body/vehicle)to change direction or topicto change one's mind

Examples

  • 调头，。
    Qián miàn bù néng diào tóu, wǒ men dé rào lù.
    We can't turn around up ahead; we have to take a detour.
  • ，。
    Tā diào guò jǐ cì tóu, zuì hòu hái shì jué dìng qù.
    He changed his mind several times, but finally decided to go.
  • 。
    Sī jī zài shí zì lù kǒu tiáo le yí gè tóu.
    The driver made a U-turn at the intersection.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

调tiáoturn
头tóuhead

调 means to turn, and 头 is the head; together they describe turning the head or direction around.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →

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
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