觸霉頭

Chinese

	knock against; touch; to feel	bad luck
trad. (觸霉頭)	觸	霉頭
simp. (触霉头)	触	霉头
alternative forms	觸楣頭／触楣头

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): chù méitóu, chù méitou

(Zhuyin): ㄔㄨˋ ㄇㄟˊ ㄊㄡˊ, ㄔㄨˋ ㄇㄟˊ ˙ㄊㄡ
Cantonese (Jyutping): zuk¹ mui⁴ tau⁴
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁷tshoq-me-deu; ⁷tshoq ⁶me-deu

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: chù méitóu
  - Zhuyin: ㄔㄨˋ ㄇㄟˊ ㄊㄡˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: chù méitóu
  - Wade–Giles: chʻu⁴ mei²-tʻou²
  - Yale: chù méi-tóu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chuh meitour
  - Palladius: чу мэйтоу (ču mɛjtou)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵¹ meɪ̯³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: chù méitou
  - Zhuyin: ㄔㄨˋ ㄇㄟˊ ˙ㄊㄡ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: chù méito̊u
  - Wade–Giles: chʻu⁴ mei²-tʻou⁵
  - Yale: chù méi-tou
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chuh mei.tou
  - Palladius: чу мэйтоу (ču mɛjtou)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵¹ meɪ̯³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: zuk¹ mui⁴ tau⁴
  - Yale: jūk mùih tàuh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzuk⁷ mui⁴ tau⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: zug¹ mui⁴ teo⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʊk̚⁵ muːi̯²¹ tʰɐu̯²¹/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁷tshoq-me-deu; ⁷tshoq ⁶me-deu
  - MiniDict: tshoh^入 me deu; tshoh^入 me^去 deu
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁴tshoq-me-deu; ⁴tshoq ³me-deu
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡sʰoʔ³³ me⁵⁵ dɤ²¹/, /t͡sʰoʔ⁴⁴ me²² dɤ⁴⁴/

Verb

觸霉頭

(dialectal) to have a stroke of bad luck; to be unfortunate

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 倒霉 (“unlucky; out of luck”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		倒霉, 倒運, 晦氣, 背運, 背時
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	倒霉, 背運, 晦氣
	Harbin	背興
	Singapore	倒霉
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	倒霉
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	倒霉
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	倒霉
	Wanrong	倒灶
	Xi'an	倒霉
	Xuzhou	背時, 倒灶
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	倒灶, 背時, 背運
Lanyin Mandarin	Ürümqi	倒運
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	背時, 倒灶, 背時倒灶
	Wuhan	背時, 倒運, 點子低, 背九一
	Liuzhou	背時, 倒灶, 衰
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	晦氣
Cantonese	Guangzhou	衰, 行衰運, 黑, 當黑, 運滯, 倒霉
	Hong Kong	衰, 行衰運, 當衰, 黑, 當黑, 黑仔, 運滯
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou)	當衰
	Macau	滯運, 黑
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	運滯, 衰
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	衰
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	衰
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	運滯
	Foshan	運滯, 衰
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	倒霉, 運滯
	Foshan (Shunde)	衰
	Foshan (Sanshui)	衰, 運滯
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	失運
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	滯運
	Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou)	衰
	Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka)	行衰運
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	滯運, 衰
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	衰
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	衰
	Taishan	衰, 衰來, 黑, 黑頸, 滯運, 倒霉
	Kaiping (Chikan)	衰
	Enping (Niujiang)	衰
	Heshan (Yayao)	唔夠運
	Dongguan	當衰, 運滯
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	衰
	Singapore (Guangfu)	衰
Gan	Nanchang	倒霉, 倒運, 背時
	Lichuan	倒灶
	Pingxiang	背時
Hakka	Meixian	衰
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	衰, 倒運
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	衰
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	衰
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	衰
	Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua)	衰
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	衰, 衰漦
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	衰, 衰漦
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	衰, 衰漦
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	衰, 衰漦
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	衰, 衰漦
Huizhou	Jixi	倒霉, 倒運, 倒灶, 背時
Jin	Taiyuan	倒運, 背時
Jin	Xinzhou	背興
Northern Min	Jian'ou	衰
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	衰, 倒運, 倒灶, 騎背
Southern Min	Xiamen	衰, 衰䆀, 衰潲, 衰神, 衰運, 落衰, 歹字運, 歹運, 拍觸衰
	Quanzhou	衰, 衰䆀, 衰潲, 衰運, 歹字運, 歹運, 拍觸衰
	Zhangzhou	衰, 衰䆀, 衰潲, 衰運, 落衰, 䆀字運, 拍觸衰, 無衣食
	Tainan	衰, 衰䆀, 衰潲, 衰尾, 落衰, 歹運
	Penang (Hokkien)	衰, 衰潲
	Singapore (Hokkien)	衰
	Manila (Hokkien)	衰, 衰潲, 衰䆀, 歹命, 歹運, 歹字運
	Shantou	衰
	Jieyang	衰, 唔利市
	Singapore (Teochew)	衰
	Leizhou	衰
	Haikou	衰
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	滯運
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	衰
Wu	Shanghai	倒霉, 觸霉頭, 晦氣
	Shanghai (Songjiang)	触霉頭
	Shanghai (Jiading)	觸霉頭, 倒運
	Shanghai (Chongming)	霉, 觸霉頭, 霉氣, 背時, 背霉
	Suzhou	触霉頭
	Wuxi	触霉頭
	Hangzhou	倒霉, 倒運, 倒灶
	Shaoxing	倒灶
	Ningbo	倒運, 晦氣
	Lishui	倒灶
	Jinyun	倒楣, 倒灶
	Jinhua	倒霉, 霉運, 倒灶, 倒運
Xiang	Changsha	背時, 走蹩腳
Xiang	Loudi	背時, 倒霉