首

shǒu

HSK 4

首 — shǒu

1. head (of a person or state); chief (in compounds: e.g. 国家元首 'head of state')

   国家元首昨日访问了首都。 guójiāyuánshǒu zuórì fǎngwèn le shǒudū — The head of state visited the capital yesterday.

2. chief; leader (in compounds or standalone, e.g. 首领)

   他是这个团体的首领。 tā shì zhège tuántǐ de shǒulǐng — He is the leader of this group.

3. first (occasion, action) — used in compounds (e.g. 首次 'for the first time')

   这是我首次来北京。 zhè shì wǒ shǒucì lái běijīng — This is my first time visiting Beijing.

4. classifier for poems, songs, certain works of writing (one shǒu = one poem/song)

   这首诗非常优美。 zhè shǒu shī fēicháng yōuměi — This poem is very beautiful.