领头羊 (lǐng tóu yáng) — bellwether, leading figure, pacesetter | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An idiom for the leader or pacesetter in a group — literally the sheep that leads the flock. Used for a person, company, or team that others follow.

idiom

bellwetherleading figurepacesetter

Examples

领头羊。
Zhè jiā gōng sī shì háng yè lǐ de lǐng tóu yáng.
This company is the bellwether in the industry.
领头羊，。
Zuò wéi jì shù chuàng xīn de lǐng tóu yáng, tā men yì zhí zài tuī dòng shì chǎng biàn gé.
As the pacesetter in technological innovation, they have been driving market change.
领头羊。
Tā zài zhè zhī qiú duì lǐ bàn yǎn le lǐng tóu yáng de jué sè.
He played the role of the leading figure on this team.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

领头lead from the front

领lǐnglead头tóufront

动宾Verb + object

The 羊 that 领头, or leads from the front, is the bellwether.

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 羊 comes from a drawing of a ram's head.

Appears in

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