p8nda
p8nda BETA
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掉头

掉頭
diàotóu
verb HSK 7-9 #6,420

Meanings

  1. 1 to make a U-turn; to turn around
  2. 2 to reverse direction

Characters

掉
diào
to turn; to swap
头
tóu
head; direction
Literally 'turn the head (direction).' On Chinese road signs, 禁止掉头 means 'No U-turn.'

Examples

HSK 3
前面不能掉头，要到下一个路口。
Qiánmiàn bùnéng diàotóu, yào dào xiàyīge lùkǒu.
You can't make a U-turn here, wait until the next intersection.
HSK 4
走错了，赶紧掉头吧。
Zǒu cuò le, gǎnjǐn diàotóu ba.
We went the wrong way, turn around quickly.

Tips

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

Stroke Order

掉 diào
头 tóu