矛头

máo tóu

HSK 3.0 Level 7 Noun Uncommon

Definitions

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

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Word relationships

Related words

3 items

矛

máo

spear

‘矛头’ originally referred to the tip of a spear, and ‘矛’ is the spear itself.

攻击

gōng jī

to attack

When ‘矛头’ means ‘criticism or attack’, ‘攻击’ is the action itself.

批评

pī píng

to criticize

‘矛头’ can be directed at someone as criticism; ‘批评’ is the general term for criticism.

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

máo tóu zhǐ xiàng

to target sb or sth (for attack, criticism etc)

Child Words of 矛头

head