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骨头 (gǔ tou) — bone (of a human or animal); fig. toughness, stubbornness (in 硬骨头, 啃骨头); bitterness or resentment (hidden inside)

Definition

Literally 'bone' (人/动物的骨头). In idioms like 硬骨头 and 啃骨头, it shifts to mean toughness or a hard problem. As a body-part noun it's unrelated to 骨骼, which means the whole skeleton.

noun
bone (of a human or animal)fig. toughnessstubbornness (in 硬骨头, 啃骨头)bitterness or resentment (hidden inside)
Measure word · 根, 块

Examples

  • 骨头。
    Xiǎo gǒu zài kěn yì gēn gǔ tou.
    The puppy is gnawing on a bone.
  • ，。
    Tā shì kuài yìng gǔ tou, shuí dōu bú pà.
    He's a tough nut, afraid of nobody.
  • 骨头。
    Zhè ge nán tí dà jiā dōu zài kěn gǔ tou.
    Everyone is struggling with this hard problem.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

骨gǔbone
头tóu

骨 names the bone, and 头 completes the common word 骨头.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròu
Sound part声符shēngfú
冎
冎guǎ骨gǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The older form 冎 drew a bone; 肉, flesh, was added to make 骨.

Open 骨 →

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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