龙头 (lóng tóu) — faucet, tap; bicycle handlebar; (figurative) in…

Definition

Literally 'dragon head' (lóng = dragon, tóu = head), used for a faucet/tap or a bike's handlebars, and figuratively for a leading enterprise.

noun

faucettapbicycle handlebar(figurative) industry leaderleading enterprise

Measure word · 个

龙头，。
Chú fáng de lóng tóu huài le, xū yào huàn yí gè xīn de.
The kitchen faucet is broken and needs to be replaced with a new one.
，龙头。
Qí zì xíng chē shí, shuāng shǒu yào wò jǐn lóng tóu.
When riding a bicycle, you should grip the handlebars tightly with both hands.
龙头。
Zhè jiā gōng sī shì háng yè de lóng tóu qǐ yè.
This company is a leading enterprise in the industry.

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.

龙头 evokes a dragon's head as the prominent front part of a tap, handlebar, or leading enterprise.

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 龍; 龙 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 龍 originally drew a sacred creature with a large mouth and a snake-like body; the simplified 龙 is the form written here.

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.

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