回头 meaning in English
to turn round; to turn one's head; later; by and by
Meaning of 回头
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to turn round; to turn one's head
- later; by and by
How to use 回头
Literally, 回头 means to turn your head or look back. In everyday speech it is often an adverb meaning "later" or "in a bit", used to put something off casually. Example: 我回头给你打电话。(Wǒ huítóu gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà.) I'll call you later.
回 (huí) means to go back, and 头 (tóu) means head, so 回头 is literally turning your head back. If you turn your head to deal with something, you will do it a little later.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 回头 for a specific future time, like a date in a schedule. It is vague and casual, closer to "later" or "in a while", so use 以后 (yǐhòu) or a real time word when you mean something precise. Also keep 头 in the second tone here, tóu, not the neutral tone it has in words like 木头 (mùtou).
回头 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
回 huí · to go back · 6 strokes
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- 2
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头 tóu · head · 5 strokes
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- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 回头.
| 回来 | huílái | to return; to come back |
| 回家 | huí jiā | to return home |
| 回去 | huíqù | to return; to go back |
| 回到 | huídào | to return to |
| 回答 | huídá | to reply; to answer; reply; answer |
| 头发 | tóufa | hair (on the head) |
| 里头 | lǐtou | inside; interior |
| 回国 | huí guó | to return to one's home country |
| 点头 | diǎntóu | to nod |
| 石头 | shítou | stone |
| 头脑 | tóunǎo | brains; mind |
| 木头 | mùtou | wood; log (CL:塊|块[kuai4],根[gen1]); (fig.) blockhead; dolt |
Questions about 回头
What does 回头 mean?
回头 (huítóu) means "to turn round; to turn one's head; later; by and by" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 回头?
回头 is made of 2 characters: 回 (6 strokes), 头 (5 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 回头 an HSK word?
Yes. 回头 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 回头 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 回头 is written 回頭.
What does 回头见 mean?
回头见 (huítóu jiàn) means "see you later". It is a casual goodbye between friends or coworkers, similar to 一会儿见 (yíhuìr jiàn).
What is the difference between 回头 and 回来?
回来 (huílái) means to physically come back to a place. 回头 means to turn your head or, as an adverb, "later", and it does not describe returning to a location.