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贼头贼脑

zéi tóu zéi nǎodictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. to behave like a thief / furtive / underhand
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-c8c6295c1e8de30a. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

賊頭賊腦 贼头贼脑 [zei2 tou2 zei2 nao3] /lit. to behave like a thief/furtive/underhand/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 賊頭賊腦

  • 贼
    zéi

    thief / robber / (bound form) traitor / subversive / (bound form) evil / wicked / sly / shifty / devious / (literary) to harm / to injure / (coll.) extremely / insanely / damn (common in NE China and Taiwan)

  • 头
    tóu

    head / hair style / the top / end / beginning or end / a stub / remnant / chief / boss / side / aspect / first / leading / classifier for pigs or livestock / CL:個|个[gè]

    tou

    suffix for nouns

  • 贼
    zéi

    thief / robber / (bound form) traitor / subversive / (bound form) evil / wicked / sly / shifty / devious / (literary) to harm / to injure / (coll.) extremely / insanely / damn (common in NE China and Taiwan)

  • 脑
    nǎo

    brain / mind / head / essence

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.