念头 (niàn tou) — how to say "thought" in Chinese

念头

Thought, idea

noun

Character composition

念

to think, to read

头

head, end

Radicals / Keys

大

Big

#37 · dà · 3 strokes

心

Heart

#61 · xīn · 4 strokes

Collocations

打消念头

dǎ xiāo niàn tou

to dismiss an idea

Examples

他突然有了一个奇怪的念头。

He suddenly had a strange thought.

我有一个念头。

I have an idea.

Writing

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Frequently asked questions

Thought in Chinese meaning

"thought" in Chinese is 念头 (niàn tou).

念头 meaning in English

念头 (niàn tou) means "Thought, idea".

How is 念头 pronounced?

It is pronounced niàn tou (written as nian tou, niantou). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.

How do you write "thought" in Chinese characters?

It is written 念头: 念 has 8 strokes, 头 has 5 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.

What HSK 3.0 level is 念头?

念头 is on the HSK 3.0 levels 7–9 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.

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More HSK 3.0 levels 7–9 words