掉头

掉頭

diàotóu

verb HSK 7-9 #6,420

Meanings

Literally 'turn the head (direction).' On Chinese road signs, 禁止掉头 means 'No U-turn.'

前面不能掉头，要到下一个路口。

Qiánmiàn bùnéng diàotóu, yào dào xiàyíge lùkǒu.

You can't make a U-turn here — wait until the next intersection.

走错了，赶紧掉头吧。

Zǒu cuò le, gǎnjǐn diàotóu ba.

We went the wrong way — turn around quickly.

mistakes

Don't confuse 掉头 (diàotóu, make a U-turn) with 掉头发 (diào tóufa, losing hair). In 掉头, 掉 means 'to turn,' but in 掉头发, 掉 means 'to fall off.'

掉 diào

头 tóu