Chinese word dictionary

交头接耳

jiāotóu-jiē’ěr · to whisper to one another's ear

Practice word

Word information

Simplified交头接耳

Traditional交頭接耳

Pinyinjiāotóu-jiē’ěr

Part of speechGeneral

HSK 3.07-9

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

交jiāo

to connect; to deliver, to exchange; to intersect; to mix

头tóu

head; chief, boss; first, top

接jiē

to connect, to join; to receive, to meet, to answer the phone

耳ěr

ear; to hear, to hear of; handle

How to learn 交头接耳

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

公交车gōngjiāochē

public transport vehicle; town bus; CL:輛|辆[liang4]

头tóu

head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4]

耳朵ěrduo

ear; CL:隻|只[zhi1],個|个[ge4],對|对[dui4]; handle (on a cup)

耳机ěrjī

headphones; earphones; telephone receiver

接jiē

to receive; to answer (the phone); to meet or welcome sb; to connect; to catch; to join; to extend; to take one's turn on duty; to take over for sb

头发tóufa

hair (on the head)