See also:
U+982D, 頭
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-982D

[U+982C]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+982E]

TranslingualEdit

Stroke order
 

Han characterEdit

(Kangxi radical 181, +7, 16 strokes, cangjie input 一廿一月金 (MTMBC), four-corner 11186, composition)

Derived charactersEdit

Related charactersEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • KangXi: page 1404, character 20
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 43490
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1921, character 13
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 7, page 4372, character 5
  • Unihan data for U+982D

ChineseEdit

trad.
simp.
alternative forms
𥘖
 
Wikipedia has articles on:

Glyph originEdit

Historical forms of the character
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script
 

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *doː): phonetic (OC *doːs) + semantic (head).

EtymologyEdit

Replaced earlier (MC ɕɨuX, “head”) due to homophony with (MC ɕɨuX, “hand”) (Sagart, 1999).

Several etymologies have been proposed:

Pronunciation 1Edit


Note: tau4-2 - “leader”.
Note: heu3* - “leader”.
Note:
  • thâu - vernacular;
  • thô͘/thiô - literary.
  • Wu
  • Xiang

    • Dialectal data
    Variety Location
    Mandarin Beijing /tʰou³⁵/
    Harbin /tʰou²⁴/
    Tianjin /tʰou⁴⁵/
    Jinan /tʰou⁴²/
    Qingdao /tʰou⁴²/
    Zhengzhou /tʰou⁴²/
    Xi'an /tʰou²⁴/
    Xining /tʰɯ²⁴/
    Yinchuan /tʰəu⁵³/
    Lanzhou /tʰou⁵³/
    Ürümqi /tʰɤu⁵¹/
    Wuhan /tʰəu²¹³/
    Chengdu /tʰəu³¹/
    Guiyang /tʰəu²¹/
    Kunming /tʰəu³¹/
    Nanjing /tʰəɯ²⁴/
    Hefei /tʰɯ⁵⁵/
    Jin Taiyuan /tʰəu¹¹/
    Pingyao /təu¹³/
    /tʰəu¹³/
    Hohhot /tʰəu³¹/
    Wu Shanghai /dɤ²³/
    Suzhou /dɤ¹³/
    Hangzhou /dei²¹³/
    Wenzhou /dɤu³¹/
    Hui Shexian /tʰiu⁴⁴/
    Tunxi /tʰiu⁴⁴/
    Xiang Changsha /təu¹³/
    Xiangtan /dəɯ¹²/
    Gan Nanchang /tʰɛu²⁴/
    Hakka Meixian /tʰeu¹¹/
    Taoyuan /tʰeu¹¹/
    Cantonese Guangzhou /tʰɐu²¹/
    Nanning /tʰɐu²¹/
    Hong Kong /tʰɐu²¹/
    Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /tʰɔ³⁵/
    /tʰau³⁵/
    Fuzhou (Min Dong) /tʰau⁵³/
    Jian'ou (Min Bei) /tʰe³³/
    Shantou (Min Nan) /tʰau⁵⁵/
    Haikou (Min Nan) /hau³¹/

    Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Initial () (7)
    Final () (137)
    Tone (調) Level (Ø)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () I
    Fanqie
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /dəu/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /dəu/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /dəu/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /dəw/
    Li
    Rong
    /du/
    Wang
    Li
    /dəu/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /dʱə̯u/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    tóu
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    tau4
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    tóu
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ duw ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*[m-t]ˁo/
    English head

    Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

    * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
    * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
    * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
    * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

    * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
    Zhengzhang system (2003)
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    No. 2465
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    0
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*doː/

    DefinitionsEdit

    1. (anatomy) head (Classifier: m c)
      不再不再  ―  tóu bùzài tòng le.  ―  My head doesn't hurt any more.
    2. hair; hairstyle
        ―  tóu  ―  to wash one's hair
        ―  tóu tì guāng  ―  to shave one's head
    3. beginning or end
      開始开始  ―  cóng tóu kāishǐ  ―  to start from the beginning
    4. top; tip; end
        ―  shāntóu  ―  top of a mountain
      火柴火柴  ―  huǒchái tóu  ―  tip of a match
    5. chief; boss; leader (person that leads or directs)
        ―  gōngtóu  ―  foreman
      你們你们  ―  Nǐmen de tóur shì shéi?  ―  Who is your leader?
    6. remnant; end
        ―  tóur  ―  oddment
        ―  yāntóu  ―  cigarette bud
    7. first; leading
        ―  tóujiǎng  ―  first prize; biggest prize
        ―  tóu bān chē  ―  first departure
    8. (used before a classifier or a numeral) first
        ―  tóu yī biàn  ―  the first time
        ―  tóu sān tiān  ―  the first three days
      幾個几个  ―  tóu jǐge  ―  the first few
    9. (Cantonese) lead (clarification of this definition is needed)
      大家做嘢 [Cantonese, trad.]
      大家做嘢 [Cantonese, simp.]
      daai6 gaa1 dou1 hai6 tai2 keoi5 tau4-2 zou6 je5. [Jyutping]
      Everyone works following his lead.
    10. (Hakka, Min Nan, dated in Mainland China) station
      [Hokkien]  ―  chhia-thâu [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  train station
    11. side; aspect
    12. Classifier for livestock.all nouns using this classifier
        ―  Wǒ yǒu liǎng tóu zhū.  ―  I have two pigs.
    13. (dialectal) Classifier for other animals.
    14. (Min Bei) Classifier for flowers.
    SynonymsEdit
    • (chief):

    Pronunciation 2Edit


    Note:
    • thâu - vernacular;
    • thô͘/thiô - literary;
    • thô - only used in 饅頭.
  • Wu
  • Xiang

  • Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Initial () (7)
    Final () (137)
    Tone (調) Level (Ø)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () I
    Fanqie
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /dəu/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /dəu/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /dəu/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /dəw/
    Li
    Rong
    /du/
    Wang
    Li
    /dəu/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /dʱə̯u/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    tóu
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    tau4
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    tóu
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ duw ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*[m-t]ˁo/
    English head

    Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

    * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
    * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
    * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
    * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

    * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
    Zhengzhang system (2003)
    Character
    Reading # 1/1
    No. 2465
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    0
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*doː/

    DefinitionsEdit

    1. Suffix that forms nouns.
      1. Added to a noun.
          ―  guàntou  ―  can; tin
          ―  shítou  ―  rock
      2. Added to a locative word.
          ―  tou  ―  inside
          ―  qiántou  ―  front
      3. Added to a verb to form an abstract noun.
          ―  niàntou  ―  thought; idea
      4. Added to an adjective to form an abstract noun.
          ―  tiántou  ―  sweet taste; benefit

    CompoundsEdit

    DescendantsEdit

    Sino-Xenic ():
    • Japanese: () (zu); (とう) ()
    • Korean: 두(頭) (du)
    • Vietnamese: đầu ()

    Others:

    ReferencesEdit

    JapaneseEdit

    KanjiEdit

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    1. head
    2. counter for large animals

    ReadingsEdit

    CompoundsEdit

    Etymology 1Edit

    Kanji in this term
    あたま
    Grade: 2
    kun’yomi
     
    Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia ja
     
    English Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia

    Probably from Old Japanese. First cited in the ten-volume Wamyō Ruijushō of 934 CE.[1]

    Unknown derivation. Theories include:

    • Compound of (a tama, literally “heaven, sky + ball). This is problematic phonetically, as appears historically as ama or ame, not as just a
    • Compound of 当て (ate ma, literally “putting something in contact + space, gap), referring to the head as a moxibustion point. This is also problematic phonetically, as the shift from ate to ata necessitates a change in meaning of the underlying verb. This is also problematic semantically, as the (ma) term refers more specifically to a gap or space.
    • Compound of (ate ma, literally “noble + space”), referring to the most important part of the body. However, the use of (ma) in this way is again problematic. Moreover, (ate, noble) appears in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter dating to the 900s CE, while (atama) with a sense of fontanelle appears in the Wamyō Ruijushō dated 938 CE, leaving insufficient time for either the semantic or phonetic drift required.[1][2]

    Historically, this term first appears with a sense of fontanelle, in reference to the soft place on the top of an infant's head where the bones of the skull have not yet fused. As such, a more likely derivation might be as a compound of 当た (ata, not quite touching, not quite in contact, possibly a fossilized 未然形 (mizenkei, incomplete form) of classical verb 当つ (atsu), root of modern 当たる (ataru, to touch, to come into contact)) +‎ (ma, space, gap, opening).

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    (あたま) (atama

    1. head (body part)
      Synonym: (dialectal, Kagoshima) びんた
      (あたま)(いた)
      Atama ga itai.
      My head hurts.
    2. (anatomy, archaic, possibly obsolete) the fontanelle part of the skull
    IdiomsEdit

    Further readingEdit

    Etymology 2Edit

    Kanji in this term
    かしら
    Grade: 2
    kun’yomi
    Alternative spelling
    (head of a doll)

    From Old Japanese.[1] Found as a standalone noun in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE, and as a counter in the Kojiki, dating to 712 CE.

    PronunciationEdit

    • The pitch accent for the counter depends on the preceding noun.

    CounterEdit

    (かしら) (-kashira

    1. a head, as when counting people, or cattle or other livestock

    NounEdit

    (かしら) (kashira

    1. the head as a whole
    2. boss, leader
    3. top part of a Chinese character
    4. the head of a doll
    Derived termsEdit

    Etymology 3Edit

    Kanji in this term
    かぶり
    Grade: 2
    kun’yomi

    Cognate with and shift in meaning from かぶり (kaburi, covering; hat, crown), spelled in kanji as 被り or .

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    (かぶり) (kaburi

    1. head
    IdiomsEdit

    Etymology 4Edit

    Kanji in this term
    かぶ
    Grade: 2
    irregular

    Cognate with (かぶ) (kabu, stump; root), from a general sense of lump.[1]

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    (かぶ) (kabu

    1. (obsolete) head
    Derived termsEdit

    Etymology 5Edit

    Kanji in this term
    つぶり
    Grade: 2
    irregular

    Cognate with (tsubu, round thing, such as a grain), 禿ぶ (tsubu, to go bald, from the idea of one's head becoming round), 円ら (tsubura, round, adjective), 潰れる (tsubureru, to become rounded, as from wear and tear, or from crushing).[1]

    Some sources[2] derive this as a shift from 円ら (tsubura, round, adjective). However, the phonology and semantics for this do not fit (changing /a/ to /i/, and repurposing the adjectivizing suffix to instead form a noun). The modern verb tsubureru had the form tsuburu in older stages of the language. The tsuburi reading for may more likely represent a nominalization derived from this older verb, following normal patterns for creating nouns from verbs.

    Compare Okinawan ちぶる (chiburu, head).

    PronunciationEdit

    • IPA(key): [t͡sɨᵝbɯ̟ᵝɾʲi]

    NounEdit

    (つぶり) (tsuburi

    1. head

    Etymology 6Edit

    Kanji in this term
    つむり
    Grade: 2
    irregular

    From tsuburi above. Bilabial plosive /b/ becomes bilabial nasal /m/.

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    (つむり) (tsumuri

    1. head
    2. hair of the head

    Etymology 7Edit

    Kanji in this term
    つむ
    Grade: 2
    irregular

    Shortened from tsumuri above.[1]

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    (つむ) (tsumu

    1. head
    Derived termsEdit

    Etymology 8Edit

    Kanji in this term
    こうべ
    Grade: 2
    kun’yomi
    Alternative spelling

    /kamipe//kampe//kaube//kɔːbe//koːbe/

    Compound of either (kami, upper) or (kami, hair) (likely cognates) with the suffix (pe, location, direction).[1][2][4]

    Alternatively, may be an alteration from (kabu, head) + (ue, up).[1]

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    (こうべ) (kōbeかうべ (kaube)?

    1. head
    Derived termsEdit

    Etymology 9Edit

    Kanji in this term
    どたま
    Grade: 2
    irregular

    Contraction of (do-, super-, often used ironically as a derogatory prefix) +‎ (atama, head).

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    (どたま) (dotama

    1. (derogatory) head
    Usage notesEdit

    Often spelled in hiragana, as どたま.

    Etymology 10Edit

    Kanji in this term

    Grade: 2
    goon

    /du//d͡zu//zu/

    From Middle Chinese (MC dəu). The goon reading, so likely an earlier borrowing.

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    () (zu (du)?

    1. head
    Usage notesEdit

    This reading is more often found in compounds, such as 頭痛 (zutsū, a headache).

    IdiomsEdit

    Etymology 11Edit

    Kanji in this term
    とう
    Grade: 2
    kan’on

    From Middle Chinese (MC dəu). The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing. The shift from initial /d/ to voiceless /t/ is due to influence or reborrowing from a later stage of the Chinese language. Compare modern Mandarin reading tóu, Cantonese tau4, Min Nan tao5.

    PronunciationEdit

    CounterEdit

    (とう) (-tō

    1. counter for certain relatively large animals, or for livestock animals; "head"
      ()わせて 1300(せんさんびゃく) (とう)(あま)りが(しゅっ)()され、(ぜん)(こく)(かく)()(りゅう)(つう)した。
      Awasete sensanbyaku amari ga shukka sare, zenkoku kakuchi ni ryūtsū shita.
      Altogether over 1300 head of cattle have been distributed throughout the country.
      (さん)(とう)(ホッ)(キョク)(グマ)
      san no Hokkyokuguma
      three polar bears
      (いっ)(とう)(ヒツジ)
      it no hitsuji
      one sheep
    2. counter for insects (used only in biology)
    See alsoEdit
    Japanese number-counter combinations for (とう) ()
    1 2 3 4 5
    (いっ)(とう) (ittō) ()(とう) (nitō) (さん)(とう) (santō) (よん)(とう) (yontō) ()(とう) (gotō)
    6 7 8 9 10
    (ろく)(とう) (rokutō) (なな)(とう) (nanatō)
    (しち)(とう) (shichitō)
    (はっ)(とう) (hattō)
    (はち)(とう) (hachitō)
    (きゅう)(とう) (kyūtō) (じゅっ)(とう) (juttō)
    (じっ)(とう) (jittō)
    100 1,000 10,000 How many?
    (ひゃく)(とう) (hyakutō) (せん)(とう) (sentō) (いち)(まん)(とう) (ichimantō) (なん)(とう) (nantō)

    NounEdit

    (とう) (

    1. head
    Derived termsEdit

    ReferencesEdit

    1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
    2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
    4. ^ 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

    KoreanEdit

    EtymologyEdit

    From Middle Chinese (MC dəu).

    Historical readings

    PronunciationEdit

    HanjaEdit

    Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

    Wikisource

    (eumhun 머리 (meori du))

    1. Hanja form? of (head).

    CompoundsEdit

    ReferencesEdit

    • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典. [2]

    Northern Amami-OshimaEdit

    KanjiEdit

    (hiragana つぃぶる, romaji tsiburu)

    EtymologyEdit

    Cognate with mainland Japanese (tsuburi), dialectal (tsuburo), itself probably a compound of (tsubu, round thing, such as a grain) + (ro, suffix indicating a state or condition).

    NounEdit

    (hiragana つぃぶる, romaji tsiburu)

    1. head

    Oki-No-ErabuEdit

    KanjiEdit

    (hiragana ちぶる, romaji chiburu)

    EtymologyEdit

    Cognate with mainland Japanese (tsuburi), dialectal (tsuburo), itself probably a compound of (tsubu, round thing, such as a grain) + (ro, suffix indicating a state or condition).

    NounEdit

    (hiragana ちぶる, romaji chiburu)

    1. head
    2. an intelligent person

    OkinawanEdit

    KanjiEdit

    (hiragana ちぶる, romaji chiburu)

    EtymologyEdit

    Cognate with mainland Japanese (tsuburi), dialectal (tsuburo), itself probably a compound of (tsubu, round thing, such as a grain) + (ro, suffix indicating a state or condition).

    NounEdit

    (hiragana ちぶる, romaji chiburu)

    1. head
    2. an intelligent person

    Derived termsEdit

    Southern Amami-OshimaEdit

    KanjiEdit

    (hiragana つぃぶる, romaji tsiburu)

    EtymologyEdit

    Cognate with mainland Japanese (tsuburi), dialectal (tsuburo), itself probably a compound of (tsubu, round thing, such as a grain) + (ro, suffix indicating a state or condition).

    NounEdit

    (hiragana つぃぶる, romaji tsiburu)

    1. head

    VietnameseEdit

    Han characterEdit

    : Hán Nôm readings: đầu

    1. (anatomy) a head
      Synonym: trốc

    YaeyamaEdit

    KanjiEdit

    (hiragana つぶり, romaji tsuburi, hiragana つぃぶる, romaji tsiburu, hiragana つぃぶるぃ, romaji tsiburi)

    EtymologyEdit

    Cognate with mainland Japanese (tsuburi), dialectal (tsuburo), itself probably a compound of (tsubu, round thing, such as a grain) + (ro, suffix indicating a state or condition).

    NounEdit

    (hiragana つぶり, romaji tsuburi, hiragana つぃぶる, romaji tsiburu, hiragana つぃぶるぃ, romaji tsiburi)

    1. head

    YoronEdit

    KanjiEdit

    (hiragana ちぶる, romaji chiburu)

    EtymologyEdit

    Cognate with mainland Japanese (tsuburi), dialectal (tsuburo), itself probably a compound of (tsubu, round thing, such as a grain) + (ro, suffix indicating a state or condition).

    NounEdit

    (hiragana ちぶる, romaji chiburu)

    1. head
    2. an intelligent person