頭あたま

also: かしら

あ

た

ま

○

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 500

Meanings

noun

head (body part)

The physical head of a person or animal.

転ころんで頭あたまを打うった。
I fell and hit my head.

noun

hair (on one's head)

Refers to the hair growing on the head, often in contexts like washing, cutting, or styling.

毎まい朝あさ、頭あたまを洗あらってから出でかける。

Every morning I wash my hair before going out.

noun

mind; brains; intellect

Only with reading あたま

Used for mental capacity, thinking, or intelligence. Common in phrases like 頭がいい (smart) and 頭を使う (use one's head). Restricted to reading あたま.

彼かれは本ほん当とうに頭あたまがいい。
He is really smart.
もっと頭あたまを使つかって考かんがえなさい。
Use your head and think more.

noun

leader; chief; boss; captain

The person at the top of a group or organization. Can be read あたま or かしら; かしら often sounds more traditional or gang-like.

彼かれがこのチームの頭かしらだ。
He is the leader of this team.
やくざの頭かしらをかしらと呼よぶ。
The boss of the yakuza is called かしら.

noun

top; tip; head (of something)

The uppermost or frontmost part of an object, like the head of a nail or the top of a list.

釘くぎの頭あたまを金かなづちで打うつ。
Hit the head of the nail with a hammer.
彼かれの名な前まえはリストの頭あたまにあった。
His name was at the top of the list.

noun

beginning; start

The initial part of something, such as the beginning of a month or a story.

話はなしの頭あたまから聞きいていなかった。
I wasn't listening from the beginning of the story.

noun

head count; person

Only with reading あたま

Used in counting people, as in 頭数 (number of persons). Restricted to reading あたま.

Written forms

頭Usage98%
- あたま
  Standard kanji spelling for most senses; reading あたま is the default.
- かしら
  Used for the leader/chief sense and the kanji component sense; reading かしら is common in these meanings.
あたまUsage1%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing, especially for the physical head and mind senses.
アタマUsage1%
かしらUsage<1%
カシラUsage<1%

Kanji

頭head, counter for large animals

Similar words

頭あたま金きん
The full, non-abbreviated term for down payment; 頭 alone is the colloquial abbreviation.
頭あたま数かず
The full compound for head count; 頭 alone can carry the same meaning in counting contexts.
顔かお
Face, often used metaphorically for reputation or presence, while 頭 refers to the physical head or mind.

Etymology

Native Japanese word with ancient roots. The kanji 頭 is a semantic borrowing from Chinese, representing the head. The two main readings, あたま and かしら, are both native Japanese (kun'yomi) and have coexisted since Old Japanese, with かしら often carrying a nuance of 'top' or 'leader'.