前头

• Pinyin: qián tou
• Hanzi breakdown: 前 = 止 (foot) + 刂 (knife) — to advance forward; 头 = localiser suffix indicating direction or position

Meaning

In front; ahead; up ahead. A colloquial way to indicate the forward direction or the area in front.

A spoken, informal variant of 前面 (in front). Used in northern Chinese dialects and everyday speech: 前头有一家商店 (there's a shop up ahead). Can refer to spatial position or, figuratively, to earlier parts of a narrative (前头说的 — what was mentioned earlier). Less formal than 前方 and more casual than 前面.

Examples

1. 前头有一个红绿灯，到了就往右拐。 There's a traffic light up ahead — turn right when you get there.
2. 你在前头走，我跟着你。 You walk in front and I'll follow you.
3. 前头那家饭店的菜很好吃。 That restaurant up ahead has delicious food.

Usage Guide

Context: directions, colloquial speech, everyday

Tone: casual

Do Say

• 前头就是学校了。(The school is just up ahead.)
• 你往前头看，那就是长城。(Look ahead — that's the Great Wall.)

Don't Say

• 在正式写作中用'前头' (Don't use 前头 in formal writing — use 前方 or 前面; 前头 is a colloquial, spoken expression)

Origin & History

A compound of 前 (front/forward) and 头 (head/end, used as a localiser suffix) — the front end or the area ahead.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal