Meaning of 头脑
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- brains
- mind
- skull
- (fig.) gist (of a matter)
- leader
- boss
How to use 头脑
头脑 usually means someone's thinking ability or good sense, and it often appears in phrases like 有头脑 (yǒu tóunǎo, to be smart or sensible) and 头脑清醒 (tóunǎo qīngxǐng, clear-headed). 他很有生意头脑。(Tā hěn yǒu shēngyi tóunǎo.) He has a good head for business.
头 (tóu) is the head and 脑 (nǎo) is the brain inside it, the same 脑 you see in 电脑 (diànnǎo), the electric brain. Put the head and the brain together and you get your mind, the thing you think with.
Common mistake: Learners often use 头脑 for the physical brain in a medical sense, but that is usually 大脑 (dànǎo) or 脑子 (nǎozi). Also keep the tones straight: second tone tóu, then third tone nǎo, not tòu or nào.
头脑 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.
头 tóu · head · 5 strokes
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脑 nǎo · brain · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 头脑.
| 电脑 | diànnǎo | computer |
| 头发 | tóufa | hair (on the head) |
| 里头 | lǐtou | inside; interior |
| 点头 | diǎntóu | to nod |
| 石头 | shítou | stone |
| 木头 | mùtou | wood; log (CL:塊|块[kuai4],根[gen1]); (fig.) blockhead; dolt |
| 老头儿 | lǎotóur | see 老頭子|老头子[lao3 tou2 zi5] |
| 脑袋 | nǎodai | head; skull |
| 镜头 | jìngtóu | camera lens; camera shot (in a movie etc) |
| 骨头 | gǔtou | bone; moral character |
| 后头 | hòutou | behind; the back |
| 前头 | qiántou | in front; at the head |
Questions about 头脑
What does 头脑 mean?
头脑 (tóunǎo) means "brains; mind" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 头脑?
头脑 is made of 2 characters: 头 (5 strokes), 脑 (10 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 头脑 an HSK word?
Yes. 头脑 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 头脑 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 头脑 is written 頭腦.
What is the difference between 头脑 and 脑子?
脑子 (nǎozi) is more casual and common in speech, as in 你没脑子吗 (Nǐ méi nǎozi ma?), "Don't you have a brain?" 头脑 sounds a bit more formal and often praises someone's thinking, as in 有头脑.
What does 摸不着头脑 mean?
摸不着头脑 (mō bu zháo tóunǎo) means to be completely confused and unable to make sense of something. Here 头脑 carries its figurative sense of the gist of a matter, so you cannot find where it starts or what it means.