DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

初露頭角

简初露头角 · 繁初露頭角

Mandarin · pinyin chū lù tóu jiǎo

lit. to first show one's horns (idiom); fig. a first show of emerging talent
first sign of emerging talent
budding genius

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

初: chū · beginning, initial, primary
露: lù · dew; bare, open, exposed
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
角: jiǎo · horn; angle, corner; point; Kangxi radical 148; 1st lunar mansion, determinative star Spica
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

1–4–2–3 · chu1 lu4 tou2 jiao3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character 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.

初露頭角 · find source passages ↗ · 初露头角 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗