矛头

máo tóu

HSK 3.0 Level 7 Noun Uncommon

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Definitions

1. spearhead
2. barb
3. an attack or criticism

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Word relationships

Related words

3 items

• 矛 máo 矛 máo spear ‘矛头’ originally referred to the tip of a spear, and ‘矛’ is the spear itself.: spear
• 攻击 gōng jī 攻击 gōng jī to attack When ‘矛头’ means ‘criticism or attack’, ‘攻击’ is the action itself.: to attack
• 批评 pī píng 批评 pī píng to criticize ‘矛头’ can be directed at someone as criticism; ‘批评’ is the general term for criticism.: to criticize

Usage notes

Collocations

‘矛头’ is typically used with verbs like ‘指向’ (point to) or ‘对准’ (aim at) to indicate the target of criticism, e.g., ‘矛头指向…’.

Common mistakes

Do not confuse with ‘矛盾’ (contradiction), which has the same first character but different meaning and tone pattern (máo dùn vs. máo tóu).

Example Sentences

1 shown

他把 矛头 对准了公司的管理层。

He directed his criticism at the company's management.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 矛头

• 矛头指向 矛头指向 máo tóu zhǐ xiàng: to target sb or sth (for attack, criticism etc)

Child Words of 矛头

• 头 头 tóu: head
• 矛 矛 máo: spear