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改頭換面

简改头换面 · 繁改頭換面

Mandarin · pinyin gǎi tóu huàn miàn

to change outwardly while remaining essentially the same (derog.) (idiom)
(Tw) (non-derogatory) to change considerably
to undergo a transformation

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Characters in this entry

改: gǎi · change, alter; improve, remodel
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
換: huàn · change, exchange; substitute
面: miàn · face; surface; plane; side, dimension; Kangxi radical 176
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
换: huàn · change

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–4–4 · gai3 tou2 huan4 mian4

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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.

改頭換面 · find source passages ↗ · 改头换面 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

goi2 tau4 wun6 min6

Cantonese word readings for 改頭換面. 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

(figurative) to reform oneself; to turn over a new leaf

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

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