马头 (mǎ tóu) — horse's head; variant of 码头 (pier, dock)

Definition

Literally 'horse's head' (e.g. a decoration or pattern). As a variant of 码头, it means the same pier/dock — same pronunciation, different character.

noun

horse's headvariant of 码头 (pier, dock)

Measure word · 个

Easily confused

马头。
Zhè fú huà lǐ huà le yì pǐ mǎ de mǎ tóu.
This painting shows a horse's head.
马头，。
Chuán dào le mǎ tóu, chéng kè kě yǐ xià chuán.
The ship arrived at the pier, and passengers can disembark.
马头。
Wǒ xǐ huan yǒu mǎ tóu tú àn de gōng yì pǐn.
I like handicrafts with a horse's head pattern.

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.

马 (horse) and 头 (upper part) mean the upper part of a horse.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

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

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.