Chinese word dictionary

栽跟头

zāi gēn tou · to fall head over heels; (fig.) to come a cropper

Practice word

Word information

Simplified栽跟头

Traditional栽跟頭

Pinyinzāi gēn tou

Part of speechDictionary

HSK 3.0Not listed

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

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

栽zāi

to cultivate, to plant, to tend

跟gēn

heel; to accompany, to follow; with

头tóu

head; chief, boss; first, top

How to learn 栽跟头

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.

跟gēn

heel; to follow closely; to go with; (of a woman) to marry sb; with; compared with; to; towards; and (joining two nouns)

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]

hair (on the head)

to nod

steamed bun

to raise one's head; to look up; (fig.) to begin to emerge; to show signs of growth; (commerce) account name, or space for writing the name on checks, bills etc