手頭

简 手头 · 繁 手頭
Mandarin · pinyin shǒu tóu

Meanings

  1. on hand
  2. at hand
  3. one's financial situation
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

手
shǒu · hand
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.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–2 · shou3 tou2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

3character links
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
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.

手頭 · find source passages ↗ · 手头 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 6 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sau2 tau4

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

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

  1. right beside one; on hand; at hand
  2. personal financial situation; finances
  3. writing or other abilities
  4. (Southern Min) strength of one's hand
  5. (Southern Min) dosage of medicine as prescribed by a doctor
  6. (Taiwanese Hokkien) situation at hand

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

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