Chinese word

从头

Pronunciation

Pinyincóng tóu

Meaning

  • adverbfrom the beginning

Example

我们要从头开始。wǒ men yào cóng tóu kāi shǐ

We need to start from the beginning.

Illustration for 从头 (from the beginning)

More examples

他决定从头学习这门语言。tā jué dìng cóng tóu xué xí zhè mén yǔ yán

He decided to learn the language from the beginning.

Core concept

The work goes back to its starting line, then moves forward through the process again.

Common phrases

  • 从头开始cóng tóu kāi shǐ

    start from the beginning

  • 从头到尾cóng tóu dào wěi

    from beginning to end

Similar words

再zài: Doing an action one more time.
重新chóng xīn: Doing an action again from the beginning after setting aside the earlier attempt.
再次zài cì: Doing the same action again in a formal or written context.

Definition in Chinese

作副词时常置于动词前，表示从开始处着手，多与“开始”“说起”“做起”等动词搭配。zuò fù cí shí cháng zhì yú dòng cí qián biǎo shì cóng kāi shǐ chù zhuó shǒu duō yǔ kāi shǐ shuō qǐ zuò qǐ děng dòng cí dā pèi

Word origin

从 (cóng, "from") + 头 (tóu, "head") combines a word for an origin with one for the front or beginning, forming an adverb for taking an action from its first stage.

Usage tips

  • When a speaker signals a restart, the adverb usually appears directly before the action, while a bare use can sound incomplete without a verb or surrounding context.

Other meanings

  • againadverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 从头至尾cóng tóu zhì wěifrom beginning to endidiom

Word lists with this word