DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

頭痛欲裂

简头痛欲裂 · 繁頭痛欲裂

Mandarin · pinyin tóu tòng yù liè

to have a splitting headache (idiom)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
痛: tòng · pain, ache; sorry, sad; bitter
欲: yù · desire, want, long for; intend
裂: liè · split, crack, break open; rend
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

2–4–4–4 · tou2 tong4 yu4 lie4

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.

頭痛欲裂 · find source passages ↗ · 头痛欲裂 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗