DICTIONARY
The Chinese word tou - 头 - tóu
(head in Chinese)
Phonetic transcription (Hanyu Pinyin)
tóu
Listen to pronunciation
(Mandarin = standard Chinese without accent)
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English translations
head, chief, boss
Chinese character and stroke order animation"How do I write 头 ( tóu ) correctly?"
The strokes that all Chinese characters are composed of are to be written in a certain order which has originally been defined by Chinese calligraphy. Writing all characters according to the same rules assures that their intended shape and style are generally preserved even if written by different writers.
This dictionary shows you the correct stroke order as an animation for all characters so you can learn and understand how to write the character correctly. :
The strokes that all Chinese characters are composed of are to be written in a certain order which has originally been defined by Chinese calligraphy. Writing all characters according to the same rules assures that their intended shape and style are generally preserved even if written by different writers.
This dictionary shows you the correct stroke order as an animation for all characters so you can learn and understand how to write the character correctly. :
头 ( tou / tóu ) in traditional characters
頭
Chinese example sentence with 头 ( tou / tóu ) ⓘWriting in Pinyin
Before using the Pinyin example sentence, consider that Chinese characters should always be your first choice in written communication.
If you cannot use Chinese characters, it is preferable to use the Pinyin with tones. Only use the Pinyin without tones if there's no other option (e.g. writing a text message from/to a mobile phone that doesn't support special characters such as ā, í, ǒ, ù).
Before using the Pinyin example sentence, consider that Chinese characters should always be your first choice in written communication.
If you cannot use Chinese characters, it is preferable to use the Pinyin with tones. Only use the Pinyin without tones if there's no other option (e.g. writing a text message from/to a mobile phone that doesn't support special characters such as ā, í, ǒ, ù).
Wo youdianr tou teng.
Wǒ yǒudiǎnr tóu téng.
我有点儿头疼。
– English translation: I have a bit of a headache.
Topic
Character complexity
头 is composed of 5 strokes and therefore is of very low complexity compared to the other simplified Chinese characters (average: 13.1 strokes).
Tags and additional information
(Meaning of individual characters, character components etc.)
hair | headache
头 ( tou / tóu ) belongs to the 100 most common Chinese characters (rank 90)
头 ( tou / tóu ) belongs to the 100 most common Chinese characters (rank 90)
Chinese example words containing the character 头 ( tou / tóu )
床头 ( chuángtóu = bedside ), 床头灯 ( chuángtóudēng = bedside lamp ), 床头柜 ( chuángtóuguì = bedside table ), 大头针 ( dàtóuzhēn = pin ), 回头 ( huítóu = to repent ), 镜头 ( jìngtóu = camera lens ), 龙头 ( lóngtóu = tap ), 码头 ( mǎtóu = dock ), 舌头 ( shétou = tongue ), 摄像头 ( shèxiàngtóu = camera ), 石头 ( shítou = stone ), 头等舱 ( tóuděngcāng = first class ), 头发 ( tóufa = hair ), 头盔 ( tóukuī = helmet ), 头痛 ( tóutòng = headache ), 枕头 ( zhěntou = pillow ), 钟头 ( zhōngtóu = hour )
Other characters that are pronounced tóu in Chinese
More words that mean chief in Chinese
zǒng ( 总 )
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Version 5.68 / Last updated: 2026-11-15