also: かしら
Refers to the hair growing on the head, often in contexts like washing, cutting, or styling.
毎朝、頭を洗ってから出かける。
Every morning I wash my hair before going out.
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.
彼は本当に頭がいい。
He is really smart.
もっと頭を使って考えなさい。
Use your head and think more.
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.
彼がこのチームの頭だ。
He is the leader of this team.
やくざの頭をかしらと呼ぶ。
The boss of the yakuza is called かしら.
The uppermost or frontmost part of an object, like the head of a nail or the top of a list.
釘の頭を金づちで打つ。
Hit the head of the nail with a hammer.
彼の名前はリストの頭にあった。
His name was at the top of the list.
The initial part of something, such as the beginning of a month or a story.
話の頭から聞いていなかった。
I wasn't listening from the beginning of the story.
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.
See also: 頭数
参加者の頭数を確認してください。
Please check the number of participants.
Only with reading あたま
Abbreviation of 頭金 (あたまきん). Used in financial contexts. Restricted to reading あたま.
See also: 頭金
車を買うとき、頭をいくらか用意した。
When buying a car, I prepared some money for the down payment.
top component of a kanji
Only with reading かしら
Refers to the upper structural part of a kanji character, e.g., くさかんむり. Restricted to reading かしら.
この漢字の頭は「くさかんむり」です。
The top component of this kanji is the 'grass crown' radical.
Only with reading あたま
Colloquial mahjong term for a pair (雀頭). Restricted to reading あたま.
See also: 雀頭 (ジャントー)
あと一つの頭ができれば上がれる。
If I can make one more pair, I can win.
You have to use your head to solve a difficult problem.
I washed my hair with shampoo.
I was at a loss when I found out the amount of the debt.
I'm racking my brains trying to come up with a new idea.
He marched at the head of the demonstration.
I'm planning to travel at the start of next month.
彼は決意を示すために頭を丸めた。
He shaved his head to show his determination.
頭 read あたま is the everyday modern word for 'head', while かぶり is a dated reading of the same kanji found mainly in old texts or fixed phrases.
頭 (あたま) is the common everyday word for 'head', while 頭部 (とうぶ) is the more formal, anatomical term used in medical or technical contexts.
頭 is a general, informal word for a boss or leader used in yakuza or gang settings, whereas 総長 specifically denotes the top leader of a biker gang.
頭 is the classic term for the head of a group of craftsmen or firefighters, similar in feel to 親分 but with less of the crime-boss connotation.
頭 is an older, more colloquial title for a boss or chief (often of craftsmen or gangs), while 組長 is the formal title for the head of a 組.
頭 shares the kanji 頭 with 念頭 but simply means the physical head or mind in general, not the specific idiom of 'keeping something in mind'.
頭 means the whole head as a body part, whereas 頭皮 refers only to the skin covering it.
首 can mean 'head' only in set contexts like decapitation (首を切る), while 頭 is the general word for the head itself, including the face and brain.
頭 is the body part 'head' itself, while 頭上 refers to the space directly above that head, not the head itself.
頭 (かしら) is a noun meaning 'head' or 'boss/leader', unrelated in meaning to the sentence-final particle かしら despite sharing the same reading.
down payment; deposit
obstinate person; stubbornness; pigheadedness · hard head (like a rock)
top-heavy · big-headed; conceited · overly theoretical; impractical
unsparingly; without listening; without giving a chance to explain
bald head · baldness
large head; person with a large head
Edo-period hairstyle worn by samurai's attendants
chief; leader; head; executive
head harness; head strap
head louse; head lice
birdbrain; scatterbrain; forgetful person
close-cropped hair; shaven head
hammer-shaped head; head like a hammer
gray-haired head; silver-haired head
flat head; flat back of the head
hard-headed; stubborn
Kana spelling is common in casual writing, especially for the physical head and mind senses.