--- title: "Chinese Hairstyles and Their Names: Ancient Buns, Hair Sticks, the Qing Braid and the Haircut, With Pinyin" description: "Chinese hairstyle names in Chinese, from the bun 丸子头 and the ancient topknot 发髻 to the hair stick 簪子, the Qing braid and the bride’s hair-combing, how to ask for a haircut, and 44 words with pinyin and sound." canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-hairstyles" author: "Mandarin The Wild" --- Free · 44 words # Chinese hairstyles [Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E5%8F%91%E5%9E%8B%20%E5%8F%91%E9%AB%BB%20%E4%B8%B8%E5%AD%90%E5%A4%B4%20%E9%A9%AC%E5%B0%BE%20%E9%A9%AC%E5%B0%BE%E8%BE%AB%20%E5%8F%8C%E9%A9%AC%E5%B0%BE%20%E8%BE%AB%E5%AD%90%20%E5%88%98%E6%B5%B7%20%E4%B8%AD%E5%88%86%20%E6%8A%AB%E8%82%A9%E5%8F%91%20%E8%83%8C%E5%A4%B4%20%E9%95%BF%E5%8F%91%20%E7%9F%AD%E5%8F%91%20%E5%8D%B7%E5%8F%91%20%E7%9B%B4%E5%8F%91%20%E5%B9%B3%E5%A4%B4%20%E5%AF%B8%E5%A4%B4%20%E5%85%89%E5%A4%B4%20%E9%AC%93%E8%A7%92%20%E7%B0%AA%E5%AD%90%20%E5%8F%91%E7%B0%AA%20%E9%92%97%20%E5%87%A4%E5%86%A0%20%E5%8F%91%E5%A4%B9%20%E5%8F%91%E5%8D%A1%20%E5%8F%91%E5%B8%A6%20%E5%A4%B4%E7%BB%B3%20%E6%A2%B3%E5%AD%90%20%E9%AB%BB%20%E9%9D%92%E4%B8%9D%20%E7%BB%93%E5%8F%91%20%E6%80%BB%E8%A7%92%20%E5%A4%B4%E5%8F%91%20%E7%90%86%E5%8F%91%20%E7%90%86%E5%8F%91%E5%BA%97%20%E7%90%86%E5%8F%91%E5%B8%88%20%E5%8F%91%E5%BB%8A%20%E6%B4%97%E5%A4%B4%20%E6%A2%B3%E5%A4%B4%20%E5%89%AA%20%E4%BF%AE%20%E6%9F%93%E5%8F%91%20%E7%83%AB%E5%8F%91%20%E5%89%83%E5%A4%B4) Speed ## Chinese hairstyles and hair ornaments, and what they are | | In Chinese | What it is | | --- | --- | --- | | Topknot or bun | 发髻 fàjì | Hair coiled up and pinned: how grown men and women wore their hair for two thousand years | | Bun on top | 丸子头 wánzitóu | The round “meatball” bun worn high on the head today | | Twin buns | 双丫髻 shuāngyājì | Two buns on top of the head, the girl’s style in old paintings and costume dramas | | Queue | 辫子 biànzi | The Qing dynasty men’s braid: the front shaved, the rest in one long plait down the back | | Ponytail | 马尾辫 mǎwěibiàn | A horse’s tail; twin ponytails are 双马尾 (shuāng mǎwěi) | | Bangs | 刘海 liúhǎi | Named after 刘海, a boy immortal in folk pictures, always drawn with a fringe | | Hair stick | 簪子 zānzi | One long pin through a bun; the “chopsticks” in Chinese hair | | Two-pronged hairpin | 钗 chāi | A pin with two prongs, often in gold or silver: a love token | | Swaying hairpin | 步摇 bùyáo | A hairpin hung with beads or leaves that sway with every step, 步 step and 摇 sway | ## Hairstyles fà发xíng型 hairstyle fà发jì髻 hair bun; topknot wán丸zi子tóu头 bun hairstyle; topknot mǎ马wěi尾 ponytail (hairstyle) mǎ马wěi尾biàn辫 ponytail (hairstyle) shuāng双mǎ马wěi尾 twin ponytails; pigtails biàn辫zi子 braid; pigtail liú刘hǎi海 bangs; fringe (hairstyle) zhōng中fēn分 center parting (hairstyle) pī披jiān肩fà发 shoulder-length hair bēi背tóu头 slicked-back hair; swept-back hairstyle ## Long, short and curly cháng长fà发 long hair duǎn短fà发 short hair juǎn卷fà发 curly hair zhí直fà发 straight hair píng平tóu头 crew cut cùn寸tóu头 crew cut guāng光tóu头 shaved head; bald head bìn鬓jiǎo角 temples; sideburns ## Hairpins and ornaments zān簪zi子 hairpin fà发zān簪 hairpin chāi钗 hairpin (two-pronged) fèng凤guān冠 phoenix coronet (traditional bridal headdress) fà发jiā夹 hairpin; hair clip fà发qiǎ卡 hairpin; hair clip fà发dài带 hairband; headband tóu头shéng绳 hair tie; hair band shū梳zi子 comb ## From the old days jì髻 bun (of hair); chignon qīng青sī丝 black hair (of a woman) jié结fà发 to tie up one's hair (on coming of age) zǒng总jiǎo角 childhood ## At the hair salon tóu头fa发 hair (on the head) lǐ理fà发 to get a haircut lǐ理fà发diàn店 barbershop; hair salon lǐ理fà发shī师 barber; hairdresser fà发láng廊 hair salon; barbershop xǐ洗tóu头 to wash one's hair shū梳tóu头 to comb one's hair jiǎn剪 to cut (with scissors); to clip xiū修 to trim; to prune rǎn染fà发 to dye one's hair tàng烫fà发 to perm hair; perm tì剃tóu头 to have a haircut ## What are the names of Chinese hairstyles? A hairstyle is a 发型 (fàxíng). The everyday ones: a ponytail, 马尾辫 (mǎwěibiàn), twin ponytails, 双马尾 (shuāng mǎwěi), a braid, 辫子 (biànzi), a bun on top, 丸子头 (wánzitóu), bangs, 刘海 (liúhǎi), a centre parting, 中分 (zhōngfēn), and shoulder-length hair, 披肩发 (pījiānfà). For men: a crew cut, 寸头 (cùntóu) or 平头 (píngtóu), slicked-back hair, 背头 (bēitóu), and a shaved head, 光头 (guāngtóu). Long hair is 长发 (chángfà), short hair 短发 (duǎnfà) and curly hair 卷发 (juǎnfà). ## What were ancient Chinese hairstyles like? Almost nobody cut their hair: the Classic of Filial Piety says your body, hair and skin come from your parents, 身体发肤，受之父母 (shēntǐ fàfū, shòu zhī fùmǔ), so you must not harm them. Small children wore it loose or in two tufts, 总角 (zǒngjiǎo). Growing up meant putting it up: a girl’s hair was pinned up with a hairpin at fifteen, 及笄 (jíjī), and a young man’s tied in a topknot under a cap at twenty, 冠礼 (guànlǐ). Women of the Tang dynasty piled their hair into tall buns, 高髻 (gāojì), set with gold hairpins and flowers. ## What are Chinese hair sticks called? 簪子 (zānzi), or 发簪 (fàzān): a single long pin pushed through a bun to hold it, in wood, jade, silver or gold. They are not chopsticks, though people often call them that in English. A hairpin with two prongs is a 钗 (chāi), and one hung with beads that sway as you walk is a 步摇 (bùyáo). A hairpin was a classic love token, and a broken one meant a couple parting. ## Why did Chinese men wear a long braid? Because the Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty ordered it. From 1645, every Han Chinese man had to shave the front of his head and wear the rest in one long braid, the queue, 辫子 (biànzi), as a sign of loyalty: “keep your hair and lose your head”, 留发不留头 (liú fà bù liú tóu). Before then Chinese men wore their hair long and tied up in a topknot, 发髻 (fàjì). After the 1911 revolution ended the empire, men cut their queues off. ## What is the hair-combing ceremony at a Chinese wedding? 上头 (shàngtóu), putting the hair up: on the night before the wedding, a woman of good fortune, with her husband, children and parents all living, combs the bride’s hair four times, saying a blessing with each stroke. One common version starts 一梳梳到尾 (yī shū shū dào wěi), the first comb to the end: together to the end of your lives; 二梳白发齐眉 (èr shū báifà qí méi), grow old together; 三梳儿孙满地 (sān shū érsūn mǎn dì), children and grandchildren everywhere. It is a Cantonese custom, kept in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Chinese families overseas. ## How do you ask for a haircut in Chinese? Say 我想剪头发 (wǒ xiǎng jiǎn tóufa), I’d like a haircut, at the hair salon, 理发店 (lǐfàdiàn). Then: 剪短一点 (jiǎn duǎn yìdiǎn), a bit shorter; 修一下 (xiū yíxià), just a trim; 剪刘海 (jiǎn liúhǎi), cut the bangs. The menu on the wall says 洗剪吹 (xǐ jiǎn chuī), wash, cut and blow-dry; 染发 (rǎnfà) is to dye your hair and 烫发 (tàngfà) is a perm. The hairdresser is the 理发师 (lǐfàshī), and the stylist is often called 老师 (lǎoshī). ## Can’t hear it? Play uses your device’s Mandarin voice. Edge, Chrome and Safari have one; a browser with none plays each character in our recorded voice instead. ## More Chinese culture - [Traditional Chinese clothing names](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-clothing-names) - [Chinese wedding words and traditions](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-wedding-words) - [Chinese dynasties in order](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dynasties) - [Parts of the body in Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-vocabulary/body) Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; the history from Wikipedia’s Chinese hairstyles, Queue and Coming of age articles, and customs vary by region and family.