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字頭

简字头 · 繁字頭

Mandarin · pinyin zì tóu

single-character headword (in a dictionary)
first character of a Chinese word
the top part (esp. a radical) of a Chinese character
the initial of a Chinese syllable

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Characters in this entry

字: zì · letter, character, word
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · zi4 tou2

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

字頭 · find source passages ↗ · 字头 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi6 tau4

Cantonese word readings for 字頭. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

single-character headword (in a dictionary)
radical of a Chinese character when on top
(Hong Kong Cantonese) triad society

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack