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    Chinese Grammar

    Expressing raising one's head with 抬头 (táitóu)

    Actions & Events
    Direction & Movement

    Structure

    Subject + 抬头

    Explanation

    抬头 (táitóu) means "to raise one's head" or "to look up." It is a verb-object compound describing the physical action of lifting the head. For example, 先生抬头 means "the gentleman looked up."

    Examples

    • 听到有人叫他，他抬头看了一眼。

      Tīng dào yǒu rén jiào tā, tā táitóu kàn le yī yǎn.

      Hearing someone call his name, he looked up.

    • 她一直低着头写字，都不抬头。

      Tā yīzhí dī zhe tóu xiězì, dōu bù táitóu.

      She kept her head down writing the whole time without looking up.

    • 老师走进来的时候，学生们纷纷抬头。

      Lǎoshī zǒu jìnlái de shíhòu, xuéshēngmen fēnfēn táitóu.

      When the teacher walked in, the students all looked up.

    Often Confused With

    Expressing raising one's head with 抬头 (táitóu) | Chinese Grammar