牵头
qiān toú · HSK 7
to take the lead
🐂 牵 (pull/lead) + 头 (head) = lead by the head; whoever holds the rope takes the lead
牵 means to pull or lead an animal by a rope, 头 is head. The one pulling the head goes first, so 牵头 extends to taking the lead, coordinating a joint effort, or mediating between sides.
牵 — top 玄 (cord) + middle 冖 (cover) + bottom 牛 (ox)
Originally depicts leading an ox by a rope: 牛 (ox) below, with 玄 (a twisted cord) above suggesting the rope used to pull it. The 冖 element represents a tether or harness. The core meaning 'to pull, lead by a rope' extends figuratively to 'involve' or 'concern'.
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'.