带头人
dàitóurén · HSK 7
Take the leader
👑 带头人 = lead + head + person: the one who heads the charge
带头 means to take the lead or go first. Add 人 (person) and you get the trailblazer — the head person who steps out front.
带 — belt/sash 巾 at bottom + ornaments above
带 originally pictured a belt or sash with hanging ornaments or pendants tied at the waist; the bottom 巾 (cloth) reinforces the textile meaning. From the literal 'belt' it extended to 'carry, bring along' (as a belt holds things) and to 'zone/region' (a strip of land).
头 — 页 (head/page) + 豆 (bean, phonetic)
The traditional form 頭 combines 頁 (xié), meaning 'head', with 豆 (dòu) as the phonetic component. 頁 itself originally depicted a person with an emphasized head. The simplified form 头 is a modern shorthand that replaces 豆+頁 with a simpler shape while keeping the same meaning of 'head' or 'top'.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.