首 (shǒu) — (classifier) for songs, poems, and pieces of music
Definition
首 (shǒu) is a classifier for songs, poems, and similar artistic pieces — the one you reach for in 一首歌 / 一首诗. Don't confuse it with 头, which counts animals and everyday items.
classifier
for songspoemsand pieces of music
Examples
- 首。Wǒ huì chàng yì shǒu liú xíng de gē.I can sing a popular song.
- 首。Tā xiě le liǎng shǒu guān yú chūn tiān de shī.He wrote two poems about spring.
- 首。Wǒ men zuó tiān xué le yì shǒu xīn de gē.We learned a new song yesterday.
Origin
Pictograph六书liùshū
象形xiàngxíngA drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.
The shape comes from an old drawing of an animal's head, showing a long mouth and horns; the version with hair became 首.
Appears in
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