回头

huí tóu

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Verb Common

Definitions

1. to turn round; to turn one's head
2. later; by and by

Word relationships

Related words

1 item

• 后来 hòu lái 后来 hòu lái afterwards; later on: afterwards; later on

Synonyms

2 items

• 转身 zhuǎn shēn 转身 zhuǎn shēn (of a person) to turn round to turn one's body: (of a person) to turn round
• 稍后 shāo hòu 稍后 shāo hòu in a little while later; after a short while: in a little while

Usage notes

Common mistakes

Avoid using 回头 for 'to return' (回去/回来). It only means 'to turn one's head' or informally 'later'.

Formality

回头 used to mean 'later' is colloquial and typical in spoken Chinese, less common in formal writing.

Example Sentences

2 shown

他 回头 看了我一眼。

He turned his head and glanced at me.

回头 看！

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 5102163)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 回头

• 不撞南墙不回头 不撞南墙不回头 bù zhuàng nán qiáng bù huí tóu: to stubbornly insist on one's own ideas (idiom)
• 回头客 回头客 huí tóu kè: repeat customer
• 回头见 回头见 huí tóu jiàn: See you!
• 回头路 回头路 huí tóu lù: the road back to where one came from
• 好马不吃回头草 好马不吃回头草 hǎo mǎ bù chī huí tóu cǎo: lit. a good horse doesn't turn around and graze the same patch again (idiom)
• 败子回头 败子回头 bài zǐ huí tóu: return of the prodigal son
• 浪子回头 浪子回头 làng zǐ huí tóu: the return of a prodigal son (idiom)
• 苦海无边，回头是岸 苦海无边，回头是岸 kǔ hǎi wú biān , huí tóu shì àn: The sea of bitterness has no bounds, turn your head to see the shore (idiom). Only Buddhist enlightenment can allow one to shed off the abyss of worldly suffering.
• 走回头路 走回头路 zǒu huí tóu lù: to turn back
• 开弓没有回头箭 开弓没有回头箭 kāi gōng méi yǒu huí tóu jiàn: lit. once you've shot the arrow, there's no getting it back (idiom)

Child Words of 回头

• 回 回 huí: to circle
• 头 头 tóu: head