领头 (lǐng tóu) — to take the lead; to be the first to do somethi… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

领头 means to step up and go first, so others follow. Often used as a verb or 带头 to express the same idea.

verb

to take the leadto be the first to do something

Examples

领头。
Zhè cì huó dòng yóu tā lǐng tóu.
He is taking the lead in this event.
，。
Dà jiā dōu yóu yù shí, tā lǐng le tóu.
When everyone was hesitating, he took the lead.
，。
Tā lǐng guò jǐ cì tóu, jīng yàn hěn fēng fù.
She has taken the lead several times and has rich experience.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

领 means lead and 头 means front; the whole means to take the leading position.

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 領; 领 is its simplified writing.

令頁領

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yè

Sound part声符shēngfú

令

令lìng領lǐng

Same sound today

The traditional form 領 has 令 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; the simplified 领 is a later shorthand.

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.

豆頁頭

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.

Appears in

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