noun HSK 2
Traditional 石頭
stone · rock · pebble
Meaning
石头 is a common everyday word for stone or rock. It refers to natural solid pieces of mineral matter, from small pebbles to large rocks. The word is neutral in register and used in both spoken and written Chinese.
Usage
This is the most common colloquial term for stones and rocks in daily conversation. Native speakers use it to refer to anything from decorative stones in gardens to rocks on hiking trails. It's slightly more informal than the literary term 岩石 (yán shí), which specifically means bedrock or geological rock formations.
Examples
- 01小心，路上有很多石头。, .Be careful, there are many stones on the road.
- 02这块石头又大又重，我搬不动。, .This rock is both big and heavy, I can't move it.
Characters
Measure words
- 块一块石头
- 颗一颗小石头
Common collocations
- 扔石头to throw stones
- 一块石头a piece of stone
- 石头剪刀布rock paper scissors
- 搬起石头砸自己的脚to lift a rock only to drop it on one's own foot (idiom: to hurt oneself by one's own scheme)
Origin
石 is the original character for stone. The suffix 头 (tou) is a common colloquial marker that softens nouns in spoken Chinese, making 石头 the everyday vernacular form of 石.