首 (shǒu): head, chief, first (occasion, thing etc)
首 (shǒu) is a Chinese character meaning “head.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 丷 (structural) and 自 (structural). It ranks #481 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 首 a deer's head 自 adorned with antlers 丷. Its radical form 首 (head) appears in many related characters.
Definitions
- head
- chief
- first (occasion, thing etc)
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA deer's head 自 adorned with antlers 丷
Decomposition: ⿱丷自 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 首 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 首
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 首先adverb/pronoun | shǒu xiān | first (of all) | 4 |
| 首要adjective | shǒu yào | the most important | 6 |
| 首都noun | shǒu dū | capital (city) | 4 |
| 首次numeral-measure | shǒu cì | first | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 首席 | shǒu xí | chief (representative, correspondent etc) |
| 元首 | yuán shǒu | head of state |
| 首相 | shǒu xiàng | prime minister (of Japan or UK etc) |
| 自首 | zì shǒu | to give oneself up |
| 首领 | shǒu lǐng | head |
| 首饰 | shǒu shì | jewelry |
| 匕首 | bǐ shǒu | dagger |
| 首府 | shǒu fǔ | capital city of an autonomous region |
| 首脑 | shǒu nǎo | head (of state) |
| 首长 | shǒu zhǎng | senior official |
| 首选 | shǒu xuǎn | first choice |
| 回首 | huí shǒu | to turn around |
| 首发 | shǒu fā | first issue |
| 斩首 | zhǎn shǒu | to behead |
| 首演 | shǒu yǎn | maiden stage role |
首 appears in 100 compound words: 46 as the first character, 48 as the last, and 6 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 首 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (19)
head high, chest out (idiom); to keep up one's spirits; in fine mettle (of animal)
bowed head and ears glued (idiom); docile and obedient; at sb's beck and call
to be the first to suffer (attack or disaster); taking the lead; first
first; number one; come first on the list; be matchless; be second to none; come out first; thumbs up
head high, chest out (idiom); to keep up one's spirits; in fine mettle (of animal)
first; number one; come first on the list; be matchless; be second to none; come out first; thumbs up
bowed head and ears glued (idiom); docile and obedient; at sb's beck and call
Showing 12 of 19 idioms containing 首.
Example Sentences
这个首字的意思与它的部首有关。
zhè gě shǒu zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .
The meaning of this character's radical is related to its component.
暴风雪来袭 纽约市周一停课停学 19年来首见
bào fēng xuě lái xí niǔ yuē shì zhōu yī tíng kè tíng xué 1 9 nián lái shǒu jiàn
The blizzard hit New York City on Monday and closed classes for the first time in 19 years
美国男子冰球队46年来冬奥首次摘金 川普祝贺
měi guó nán zǐ bīng qiú duì 4 6 nián lái dōng ào shǒu cì zhāi jīn chuān pǔ zhù hè
The U.S. men's ice hockey team won gold at the Winter Olympics for the first time in 46 years, and Trump congratulated him
上海乐高乐园度假区首个春节表现亮眼,成亲子家庭出行..
shàng hǎi lè gāo lè yuán dù jiǎ qū shǒu gè chūn jié biǎo xiàn liàng yǎn , chéng qīn zǐ jiā tíng chū háng . .
Shanghai Legoland Resort's first Spring Festival performance is eye-catching, and parents and children travel as a family:
上海乐高乐园迎开园后首个春节假期,正月初三刷新单日..
shàng hǎi lè gāo lè yuán yíng kāi yuán hòu shǒu gè chūn jié jiǎ qī , zhèng yuè chū sān shuā xīn dān rì . .
Shanghai Legoland welcomed the first Spring Festival holiday after the opening of the park, and the third day of the first lunar month refreshed a single day:
“家门口”到“厂门口”,首批数百名来沪务工劳动者“..
jiā mén kǒu dào hǎn mén kǒu , shǒu pī shǔ bǎi míng lái hù wù gōng láo dòng zhě . .
From "doorstep" to "factory gate", the first batch of hundreds of migrant workers came to Shanghai":
美国的首都是华盛顿还是纽约？
Měiguó de shǒudū shì Huáshèngdùn háishi Niǔyuē?
Which is the capital of the United States, Washington or New York?
芬兰的首都是什么？
Fēnlán de shǒudū shì shénme?
What's the capital city of Finland?
这首曲子，是动漫主题曲吗？
Zhè shǒu qǔzi, shì dòngmàn zhǔtí qǔ ma?
Is this an anime theme song?
祝今晚首演顺利，成功！
Zhù jīnwǎn shǒuyǎn shùnlì, chénggōng!
Good luck with tonight's performance!
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 首 (shǒu) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 首 have?
What is the radical of 首?
What are the components of 首?
What are common words containing 首?
What characters sound the same as 首 (shǒu)?
Is 首 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 首 with real-time feedback
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