有頭有尾
简 有头有尾 · 繁 有頭有尾Meanings
- where there's a start, there's a finish (idiom); to finish once one starts sth
- to carry things through
- I started, so I'll finish.
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Mandarin tones
3–2–3–3 · you3 tou2 you3 wei3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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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.
有頭有尾 · find source passages ↗ · 有头有尾 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
jau5 tau4 jau5 mei5
Cantonese word readings for 有頭有尾. 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 have a beginning and an end; to carry things through; to see something to completion
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack