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探頭探腦

简探头探脑 · 繁探頭探腦

Mandarin · pinyin tàn tóu tàn nǎo

to stick one's head out and look around (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

探: tàn · find, locate; search, grope for
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
腦: Look up this written character
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
脑: nǎo · brain

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–3 · tan4 tou2 tan4 nao3

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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.

探頭探腦 · find source passages ↗ · 探头探脑 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

taam3 tau4 taam3 nou5

Cantonese word readings for 探頭探腦. 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) to pop one's head in and look about

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

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