首 (shǒu): head; chief; leader

Meanings

1 head; chief; leader
2 first; foremost
3 measure word for poems and songs

Characters

首

shǒu

head; first; chief; measure word for poems/songs

Examples

首先，自我介绍一下。

Shǒuxiān, zìwǒ jièshào yíxià.

First of all, let me introduce myself.

北京是中国的首都。

Běijīng shì Zhōngguó de shǒudū.

Beijing is the capital of China.

这首歌很好听。

Zhè shǒu gē hěn hǎotīng.

This song sounds great.

Tips

usage

首 is used in: 首先 (first of all), 首都 (capital city), 首次 (for the first time). As a measure word: 一首歌 (a song), 一首诗 (a poem). 首 implies 'number one' or 'head of.'

Components

pictograph

首 shǒu

head; chief

A pictograph of a head: the oracle bone form clearly shows hair on top of an eye 目 — a stylised human head viewed in profile. The two top strokes are the hair tuft, the box-with-bar below is the eye. Modern shape preserves both elements but they no longer function as independent components. As Kangxi radical #185 it indexes itself plus a tiny family; most head-words moved to 页.

Radical

Head Kangxi #185

An indexing radical for 'head' and 'first'. The graph shows hair on top of an eye 目 — a stylized human head — but in modern usage it more often acts as a content morpheme (首先 first, 首都 capital, 元首 head of state) than as a productive component. Most head-vocabulary moved to 页 instead.