摇头 meaning in English

yáotóu

to shake one's head

HSK 5Traditional 搖頭18 strokes

Meaning of 摇头

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

yáotóu

to shake one's head

How to use 摇头

摇头 is a verb phrase used for physically shaking your head, usually to say no or show disapproval, disbelief, or helplessness. It often appears with 只是 or 直 to describe repeated shaking. Example: 他听了只是摇头。(Tā tīng le zhǐshì yáotóu.) He listened and just shook his head.

摇 (yáo) has the hand radical 扌 on the left, so picture a hand moving something back and forth. Put it with 头 (tóu, head) and you get moving your head side to side: shaking your head.

Common mistake: Learners often read 头 here with a neutral tone, as in 石头 (shítou) or 木头 (mùtou). In 摇头 it keeps its full second tone: yáotóu, just like 点头 (diǎntóu).

摇头 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

汤tāng姆mǔ只zhǐ是shì摇yáo摇yáo头tóu。

Tom just shook his head.

要yào发fā生shēng的de已yǐ经jīng发fā生shēng了le，你nǐ摇yáo头tóu叹tàn息xī也yě没méi用yòng。

What's happened has happened; there's no use in whining and complaining.

他tā们men以yǐ摇yáo头tóu表biǎo示shì不bù同tóng意yì，而ér其qí他tā国guó家jiā的de人rén可kě能néng以yǐ摇yáo头tóu表biǎo示shì同tóng意yì。

They express disagreement by shaking their heads, which may indicate agreement in other countries.

例lì如rú，在zài保bǎo加jiā利lì亚yà摇yáo头tóu表biǎo示shì同tóng意yì而ér点diǎn头tóu表biǎo示shì不bù同tóng意yì。

For example in Bulgaria, shaking one's head means yes while nodding one's head means no.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

摇 yáo · to shake · 13 strokes

头 tóu · head · 5 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 摇头.

头发	tóufa	hair (on the head)
里头	lǐtou	inside; interior
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
老头儿	lǎotóur	see 老頭子\|老头子[lao3 tou2 zi5]
镜头	jìngtóu	camera lens; camera shot (in a movie etc)
骨头	gǔtou	bone; moral character
动摇	dòngyáo	to sway; to waver
后头	hòutou	behind; the back
前头	qiántou	in front; at the head

Questions about 摇头

What does 摇头 mean?

摇头 (yáotóu) means "to shake one's head".

How do you write 摇头?

摇头 is made of 2 characters: 摇 (13 strokes), 头 (5 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.

Is 摇头 an HSK word?

Yes. 摇头 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 摇头 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 摇头 is written 搖頭.

What is the opposite of 摇头?

The opposite is 点头 (diǎntóu), to nod. The two are often paired, as in 点头摇头 or in a question like 你点头还是摇头? (Are you nodding or shaking your head?)

Can 摇头 be split up with other words in the middle?

Yes. It is a verb plus object, so you can insert words, as in 摇了摇头 (yáo le yáo tóu), to shake one's head briefly. This form is very common in stories and written Chinese.