Top Hair Words

Useful Phrases And Real-Life Sentences

• 扎头发 zhā tóufa — to tie your hair up. 她运动的时候会扎头发。Tā yùndòng de shíhou huì zhā tóufa. She ties her hair up when she exercises.
• 编辫子 biān biànzi — to braid hair. 妈妈在给小孩编辫子。Māma zài gěi xiǎohái biān biànzi. The mom is braiding the child’s hair.
• 中分 zhōngfēn — middle part. 她今天是中分发型。Tā jīntiān shì zhōngfēn fàxíng. She has a middle-part hairstyle today.
• 侧分 cèfēn — side part. 我觉得侧分更适合你。Wǒ juéde cèfēn gèng shìhé nǐ. I think a side part suits you better.
• 高马尾 gāo mǎwěi — high ponytail. 她扎了一个高马尾。Tā zhā le yí ge gāo mǎwěi. She tied a high ponytail.
• 低马尾 dī mǎwěi — low ponytail. 上班的时候我常扎低马尾。Shàngbān de shíhou wǒ cháng zhā dī mǎwěi. I often wear a low ponytail for work.
• 寸头 cùntóu — buzz cut. 他夏天喜欢留寸头。Tā xiàtiān xǐhuan liú cùntóu. He likes to wear a buzz cut in summer.
• 平头 píngtóu — flat crew cut. 他的平头看起来很利落。Tā de píngtóu kàn qǐlai hěn lìluo. His crew cut looks neat.
• 盘发 pánfà — pinned-up hair or updo. 她参加婚礼时做了盘发。Tā cānjiā hūnlǐ shí zuò le pánfà. She wore an updo for the wedding.
• 拉直 lā zhí — to straighten hair. 她昨天去把头发拉直了。Tā zuótiān qù bǎ tóufa lā zhí le. She went to get her hair straightened yesterday.
• 吹干 chuīgān — to blow-dry. 洗完头以后先吹干。Xǐ wán tóu yǐhòu xiān chuīgān. Blow-dry it after washing your hair.
• 留长 liú cháng — to grow longer. 我想把头发留长一点。Wǒ xiǎng bǎ tóufa liú cháng yīdiǎn. I want to grow my hair a bit longer.

Hair Words By Category

These grouped tables are built for quick review. Read the word, check the pinyin, and steal the example sentence shamelessly.

Hair Parts And Texture

Hanzi	Pinyin	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
头发	tóufa	hair	我的头发很长。	Wǒ de tóufa hěn cháng.	My hair is long.
发根	fàgēn	hair roots	发根有点油。	Fàgēn yǒudiǎn yóu.	My roots are a bit oily.
发尾	fàwěi	hair ends	她只想修发尾。	Tā zhǐ xiǎng xiū fàwěi.	She only wants to trim the ends.
发际线	fàjìxiàn	hairline	他的发际线很整齐。	Tā de fàjìxiàn hěn zhěngqí.	His hairline is very even.
发量	fāliàng	hair volume	她的发量很多。	Tā de fāliàng hěn duō.	She has a lot of hair.
细软发	xìruǎnfà	fine soft hair	我是细软发。	Wǒ shì xìruǎnfà.	I have fine soft hair.
粗硬发	cūyìngfà	coarse hair	他的头发属于粗硬发。	Tā de tóufa shǔyú cūyìngfà.	His hair is on the coarse side.
油性头发	yóuxìng tóufa	oily hair	油性头发要常洗。	Yóuxìng tóufa yào cháng xǐ.	Oily hair needs frequent washing.
干性头发	gānxìng tóufa	dry hair	冬天我的头发很干。	Dōngtiān wǒ de tóufa hěn gān.	My hair gets very dry in winter.

Hairstyles And Looks

Hanzi	Pinyin	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
长发	chángfà	long hair	她以前留长发。	Tā yǐqián liú chángfà.	She used to have long hair.
短发	duǎnfà	short hair	短发看起来很清爽。	Duǎnfà kàn qǐlai hěn qīngshuǎng.	Short hair looks fresh and neat.
中长发	zhōng chángfà	medium-long hair	我现在是中长发。	Wǒ xiànzài shì zhōng chángfà.	I have medium-long hair now.
直发	zhífà	straight hair	她天生就是直发。	Tā tiānshēng jiù shì zhífà.	She naturally has straight hair.
卷发	juǎnfà	curly hair	卷发很有气质。	Juǎnfà hěn yǒu qìzhì.	Curly hair has a lot of style.
刘海	liúhǎi	bangs	你想留刘海吗？	Nǐ xiǎng liú liúhǎi ma?	Do you want bangs?
齐刘海	qíliúhǎi	blunt bangs	她剪了齐刘海。	Tā jiǎn le qíliúhǎi.	She got blunt bangs.
马尾	mǎwěi	ponytail	她把头发扎成马尾。	Tā bǎ tóufa zhā chéng mǎwěi.	She tied her hair into a ponytail.
双马尾	shuāngmǎwěi	pigtails	小女孩扎着双马尾。	Xiǎo nǚhái zhā zhe shuāngmǎwěi.	The little girl is wearing pigtails.
丸子头	wánzitóu	bun	天气热的时候我喜欢扎丸子头。	Tiānqì rè de shíhou wǒ xǐhuan zhā wánzitóu.	When it’s hot, I like to wear a bun.

Salon Words And Actions

Hanzi	Pinyin	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
理发店	lǐfàdiàn	barbershop	他去理发店剪头发。	Tā qù lǐfàdiàn jiǎn tóufa.	He goes to the barbershop for a haircut.
美发店	měifàdiàn	hair salon	这家美发店很受欢迎。	Zhè jiā měifàdiàn hěn shòu huānyíng.	This salon is very popular.
理发师	lǐfàshī	barber or hairstylist	理发师很专业。	Lǐfàshī hěn zhuānyè.	The hairstylist is very professional.
洗头	xǐtóu	to wash hair	我想先洗头。	Wǒ xiǎng xiān xǐtóu.	I want to wash my hair first.
剪头发	jiǎn tóufa	to cut hair	我今天要去剪头发。	Wǒ jīntiān yào qù jiǎn tóufa.	I’m going to get a haircut today.
修一下	xiū yīxià	to trim a little	我只想修一下。	Wǒ zhǐ xiǎng xiū yīxià.	I only want a small trim.
打薄	dǎbáo	to thin out hair	可以帮我打薄一点吗？	Kěyǐ bāng wǒ dǎbáo yīdiǎn ma?	Can you thin it out a little?
分层	fēncéng	layers	我想要一点分层。	Wǒ xiǎng yào yīdiǎn fēncéng.	I want a few layers.
烫发	tàngfà	to perm hair	她准备去烫发。	Tā zhǔnbèi qù tàngfà.	She plans to get a perm.
染发	rǎnfà	to dye hair	我还没决定要不要染发。	Wǒ hái méi juédìng yào bú yào rǎnfà.	I haven’t decided whether to dye my hair.

Hair Care And Problems

Hanzi	Pinyin	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
洗发水	xǐfàshuǐ	shampoo	这瓶洗发水很好闻。	Zhè píng xǐfàshuǐ hěn hǎowén.	This shampoo smells nice.
护发素	hùfàsù	conditioner	洗完头以后要用护发素。	Xǐ wán tóu yǐhòu yào yòng hùfàsù.	Use conditioner after washing your hair.
发膜	fàmó	hair mask	她每周用一次发膜。	Tā měi zhōu yòng yí cì fàmó.	She uses a hair mask once a week.
头皮	tóupí	scalp	我的头皮有点干。	Wǒ de tóupí yǒudiǎn gān.	My scalp is a little dry.
头皮屑	tóupíxiè	dandruff	最近我有一点头皮屑。	Zuìjìn wǒ yǒu yīdiǎn tóupíxiè.	I’ve had a little dandruff lately.
分叉	fēnchà	split ends	发尾分叉了。	Fàwěi fēnchà le.	The ends are split.
毛躁	máozao	frizzy	下雨天头发容易毛躁。	Xiàyǔtiān tóufa róngyì máozao.	Hair gets frizzy on rainy days.
顺滑	shùnhuá	smooth and sleek	这个产品会让头发更顺滑。	Zhège chǎnpǐn huì ràng tóufa gèng shùnhuá.	This product makes hair smoother.
掉头发	diào tóufa	to lose hair	换季的时候容易掉头发。	Huànjì de shíhou róngyì diào tóufa.	It’s easy to lose hair during season changes.

Variants And Polite Salon Requests

These are the phrases people actually say when they want a haircut without accidentally authorizing chaos.

Chinese Request	Pinyin	Meaning	Best Use
剪短一点儿	jiǎn duǎn yīdiǎnr	Cut it a bit shorter.	When you want less length but not a big change.
别剪太短	bié jiǎn tài duǎn	Don’t cut it too short.	Very useful if you have haircut trust issues.
我只想修一下	wǒ zhǐ xiǎng xiū yīxià	I only want a trim.	When you want maintenance, not drama.
帮我打薄一点	bāng wǒ dǎbáo yīdiǎn	Please thin it out a little.	For thick or heavy hair.
我想要一点分层	wǒ xiǎng yào yīdiǎn fēncéng	I want a few layers.	When you want more shape and movement.
刘海剪齐一点	liúhǎi jiǎn qí yīdiǎn	Make the bangs a bit more even.	For blunt or straighter bangs.
两边短一点	liǎngbiān duǎn yīdiǎn	Shorter on both sides.	Common for men’s cuts and cleaner sides.
后面不要太短	hòumiàn bú yào tài duǎn	Don’t make the back too short.	Very helpful when you know exactly where regret begins.

Quick FAQ

How Do You Say “Bangs” In Chinese?

You say 刘海 liúhǎi. A simple sentence is 我想留刘海。Wǒ xiǎng liú liúhǎi. That means “I want bangs.” If you want blunt bangs, say 齐刘海 qíliúhǎi.

How Do You Say “Ponytail” In Chinese?

马尾 mǎwěi means ponytail. You can say 她扎着马尾。Tā zhā zhe mǎwěi. That means “She is wearing a ponytail.” A high ponytail is 高马尾 gāo mǎwěi.

How Do You Ask For A Trim In Chinese?

The safest line is 我只想修一下。Wǒ zhǐ xiǎng xiū yīxià. It means “I only want a trim.” Add 别剪太短。Bié jiǎn tài duǎn. if you want extra protection.

What Is The Difference Between 头发 tóufa And 发型 fàxíng?

头发 tóufa is the hair itself. 发型 fàxíng is the style of the hair. So 你的头发很顺滑。Nǐ de tóufa hěn shùnhuá. means “Your hair is very smooth,” while 你的发型很好看。Nǐ de fàxíng hěn hǎokàn. means “Your hairstyle looks great.”

Hair vocabulary is wonderfully practical. Learn a few words like 头发 tóufa, 发型 fàxíng, 刘海 liúhǎi, and 修一下 xiū yīxià, and suddenly everyday Chinese gets a lot more useful. Also, your next haircut has a better chance of being intentional. That feels like progress.