钟头

• Pinyin: zhōng tóu
• Hanzi breakdown: 钟 = 钅(metal) + 中 (middle/phonetic); 头 = simplified from 頭, a head

Meaning

Hour; a unit of time equal to sixty minutes.

A colloquial synonym for 小时 (hour). Slightly more casual in tone and commonly used in spoken Chinese, especially in northern dialects. Can be preceded by numbers to indicate duration.

Examples

1. 我等了你整整三个钟头，电话也打不通。 I waited for you for a full three hours, and couldn't get through on the phone either.
2. 从这儿开车到机场大概需要两个钟头。 It takes about two hours to drive from here to the airport.
3. 她每天花好几个钟头练习钢琴，进步非常明显。 She spends several hours every day practicing piano, and her progress is very obvious.

Usage Guide

Context: daily conversation, casual speech

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 再等半个钟头吧。(Let's wait another half hour.)
• 这部电影有两个多钟头。(This movie is over two hours long.)

Don't Say

• 现在是十点钟头。(Incorrect — 钟头 is for duration, not time of day; use 十点钟)

Origin & History

Compound of 钟 (clock, bell) and 头 (head, unit suffix). Originally referred to the time measured by striking a bell or clock.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal