頭髮和髮型 tóu fà hé fǎ xíng can be surprisingly useful. One minute you are at a salon, the next minute you are trying to explain why you want “shorter on the sides, but not too short,” and somehow your confidence has evaporated. Very normal. Mandarin has plenty of simple, practical words for hair, cuts, colors, and salon basics, so you do not need to wave your hands like a tiny jazz conductor.
This guide teaches Hair and Hairstyles in Traditional Chinese with pinyin, English meanings, and real-life examples. It uses Taiwan-friendly wording where that helps, because a haircut in Taipei is not the same vibe as a haircut in a textbook from nowhere in particular.
If you want to build more body-related vocabulary, you can also check the main Traditional Chinese learning hub, plus related guides for body and face parts, clothing and accessories, and colors.
Useful Hair Words You Will Actually Use
| Traditional Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning | Example (ZH) | Example (Pinyin) | Translation (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 頭髮 | tóu fà | hair | 她的頭髮很長。 | Tā de tóu fà hěn cháng. | Her hair is very long. |
| 髮型 | fǎ xíng | hairstyle; hairdo | 你今天的髮型很好看。 | Nǐ jīntiān de fǎ xíng hěn hǎokàn. | Your hairstyle looks nice today. |
| 長髮 | cháng fà | long hair | 她喜歡留長髮。 | Tā xǐhuān liú cháng fà. | She likes to keep long hair. |
| 短髮 | duǎn fà | short hair | 他剪了短髮。 | Tā jiǎn le duǎn fà. | He got a short haircut. |
| 瀏海 | liú hǎi | bangs; fringe | 她的瀏海有點長了。 | Tā de liú hǎi yǒudiǎn cháng le. | Her bangs are getting a bit long. |
| 捲髮 | juǎn fà | curly hair | 她是自然捲髮。 | Tā shì zìrán juǎn fà. | She has naturally curly hair. |
| 直髮 | zhí fà | straight hair | 他的直髮很好整理。 | Tā de zhí fà hěn hǎo zhěnglǐ. | His straight hair is easy to manage. |
| 自然捲 | zì rán juǎn | natural curls; naturally wavy/curly hair | 我的頭髮是自然捲。 | Wǒ de tóu fà shì zìrán juǎn. | My hair is naturally curly. |
| 染髮 | rǎn fà | to dye hair | 她想去染髮。 | Tā xiǎng qù rǎn fà. | She wants to dye her hair. |
| 燙髮 | tàng fà | to perm; to get a perm | 阿姨去燙髮了。 | Āyí qù tàng fà le. | Auntie went to get a perm. |
| 護髮 | hù fà | hair care; hair treatment | 我今天想做護髮。 | Wǒ jīntiān xiǎng zuò hù fà. | I want a hair treatment today. |
| 分線 | fēn xiàn | parting line; hair part | 他的分線在左邊。 | Tā de fēn xiàn zài zuǒbiān. | His hair part is on the left. |
| 髮尾 | fǎ wěi | hair ends; tips | 髮尾有點乾。 | Fǎ wěi yǒudiǎn gān. | The hair ends are a little dry. |
| 髮根 | fǎ gēn | hair roots | 髮根很油。 | Fǎ gēn hěn yóu. | The roots are oily. |
| 髮量 | fǎ liàng | amount of hair; hair volume | 他的髮量很多。 | Tā de fǎ liàng hěn duō. | He has a lot of hair. |
| 髮質 | fǎ zhì | hair texture/quality | 她的髮質很好。 | Tā de fǎ zhì hěn hǎo. | Her hair texture is very good. |
Salon Words For The Chair, The Wash, And The Big Reveal
| Traditional Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning | Example (ZH) | Example (Pinyin) | Translation (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 理髮店 | lǐ fà diàn | barbershop; hair salon | 我去樓下的理髮店剪頭髮。 | Wǒ qù lóuxià de lǐ fà diàn jiǎn tóu fà. | I go to the salon downstairs to get a haircut. |
| 美髮沙龍 | měi fà shā lóng | hair salon | 這家美髮沙龍很有名。 | Zhè jiā měi fà shā lóng hěn yǒumíng. | This hair salon is very famous. |
| 設計師 | shè jì shī | stylist | 請問設計師有空嗎？ | Qǐngwèn shèjìshī yǒu kòng ma? | Is the stylist available? |
| 洗頭 | xǐ tóu | to wash hair | 我想先洗頭。 | Wǒ xiǎng xiān xǐ tóu. | I want to wash my hair first. |
| 吹乾 | chuī gān | to blow-dry | 麻煩幫我吹乾。 | Máfan bāng wǒ chuī gān. | Please blow-dry it for me. |
| 剪髮 | jiǎn fà | haircut; to cut hair | 今天我只想剪髮，不想太多造型。 | Jīntiān wǒ zhǐ xiǎng jiǎn fà, bù xiǎng tài duō zào xíng. | Today I only want a haircut, not a big styling job. |
| 修剪 | xiū jiǎn | trim; tidy up | 我只要修剪髮尾。 | Wǒ zhǐ yào xiū jiǎn fǎ wěi. | I just want the ends trimmed. |
| 造型 | zào xíng | styling; look | 他今天的造型很帥。 | Tā jīntiān de zào xíng hěn shuài. | His look is very cool today. |
| 髮型師 | fǎ xíng shī | hairstylist | 髮型師幫我換了新造型。 | Fǎxíngshī bāng wǒ huàn le xīn zào xíng. | The hairstylist gave me a new look. |
| 預約 | yù yuē | to make an appointment | 我先打電話預約。 | Wǒ xiān dǎ diànhuà yùyuē. | I’ll make an appointment first. |
| 沖洗 | chōng xǐ | rinse | 洗完後請幫我沖洗乾淨。 | Xǐ wán hòu qǐng bāng wǒ chōngxǐ gānjìng. | After washing, please rinse it clean. |
| 護理 | hù lǐ | treatment; care | 我的頭髮需要護理。 | Wǒ de tóu fà xūyào hùlǐ. | My hair needs treatment. |
| 漂髮 | piǎo fà | to bleach hair | 漂髮後髮質會比較乾。 | Piǎo fà hòu fǎ zhì huì bǐjiào gān. | Hair can get drier after bleaching. |
| 補染 | bǔ rǎn | root touch-up; recolor the roots | 我下個月要補染。 | Wǒ xià ge yuè yào bǔ rǎn. | I need a root touch-up next month. |
Haircut Requests And Salon Phrases
These are the phrases people actually need when they sit in the chair and suddenly forget every language they have ever learned. Convenient, right?
| Traditional Chinese | Pinyin | English Meaning | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我想剪頭髮。 | Wǒ xiǎng jiǎn tóu fà. | I want a haircut. | 我想剪頭髮，麻煩幫我安排。 |
| 我想修一點點。 | Wǒ xiǎng xiū yīdiǎndiǎn. | I just want a small trim. | 我只想修一點點，不用剪太多。 |
| 請幫我剪短一點。 | Qǐng bāng wǒ jiǎn duǎn yīdiǎn. | Please make it shorter. | 請幫我剪短一點，謝謝。 |
| 不要剪太短。 | Bú yào jiǎn tài duǎn. | Don’t cut it too short. | 我想要短一點，但不要剪太短。 |
| 請保留長度。 | Qǐng bǎoliú chángdù. | Please keep the length. | 瀏海可以修，但請保留長度。 |
| 我要打層次。 | Wǒ yào dǎ céngcì. | I want layers. | 我的頭髮很厚，想打層次。 |
| 請幫我打薄。 | Qǐng bāng wǒ dǎbó. | Please thin it out. | 髮量太多，請幫我打薄。 |
| 我想剪瀏海。 | Wǒ xiǎng jiǎn liú hǎi. | I want bangs. | 我想剪瀏海，但不要太厚。 |
| 請幫我分中分。 | Qǐng bāng wǒ fēn zhōng fēn. | Please part it in the middle. | 今天想要自然一點，請幫我分中分。 |
| 請幫我吹順。 | Qǐng bāng wǒ chuī shùn. | Please blow it smooth. | 我頭髮有點亂，請幫我吹順。 |
| 可以幫我夾直嗎？ | Kěyǐ bāng wǒ jiá zhí ma? | Can you straighten it with a flat iron? | 晚點有聚會，可以幫我夾直嗎？ |
| 我想染深一點。 | Wǒ xiǎng rǎn shēn yīdiǎn. | I want a darker color. | 夏天快過了，我想染深一點。 |
| 我想染自然一點的顏色。 | Wǒ xiǎng rǎn zìrán yīdiǎn de yánsè. | I want a more natural color. | 我想染自然一點的顏色，不要太亮。 |
| 請幫我做護髮。 | Qǐng bāng wǒ zuò hù fà. | Please do a hair treatment for me. | 漂髮後我想做護髮。 |
Hair Colors And Texture Words
If you want to describe hair well, color and texture matter a lot. Hair in Mandarin is not just “black” or “brown.” It is often described with shade, softness, shine, volume, and whether it behaves itself. Hair, like cats, enjoys doing its own thing.
| Traditional Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning | Example (ZH) | Example (Pinyin) | Translation (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 黑色頭髮 | hēi sè tóu fà | black hair | 很多台灣人是黑色頭髮。 | Hěn duō Táiwān rén shì hēi sè tóu fà. | Many Taiwanese people have black hair. |
| 棕色 | zōng sè | brown | 她把頭髮染成棕色。 | Tā bǎ tóu fà rǎn chéng zōngsè. | She dyed her hair brown. |
| 金色 | jīn sè | blonde; golden | 她的髮尾是金色的。 | Tā de fǎ wěi shì jīn sè de. | The ends of her hair are blonde. |
| 灰色 | huī sè | gray | 他想染灰色頭髮。 | Tā xiǎng rǎn huīsè tóu fà. | He wants gray hair color. |
| 深色 | shēn sè | dark color | 我比較喜歡深色。 | Wǒ bǐjiào xǐhuān shēn sè. | I prefer darker colors. |
| 淺色 | qiǎn sè | light color | 她最近想染淺色一點。 | Tā zuìjìn xiǎng rǎn qiǎn sè yīdiǎn. | She wants a lighter color lately. |
| 髮色 | fǎ sè | hair color | 你的髮色很好看。 | Nǐ de fǎ sè hěn hǎokàn. | Your hair color looks great. |
| 柔順 | róu shùn | soft and smooth | 她的頭髮很柔順。 | Tā de tóu fà hěn róushùn. | Her hair is soft and smooth. |
| 毛躁 | máo zào | frizzy; unruly | 我的頭髮很毛躁。 | Wǒ de tóu fà hěn máozào. | My hair is frizzy. |
| 蓬鬆 | péng sōng | fluffy; voluminous | 我喜歡蓬鬆一點的髮型。 | Wǒ xǐhuān péng sōng yīdiǎn de fǎ xíng. | I like a more voluminous hairstyle. |
| 油性頭皮 | yóu xìng tóu pí | oily scalp | 我的頭皮比較油性。 | Wǒ de tóu pí bǐjiào yóuxìng. | My scalp is on the oily side. |
| 乾性頭皮 | gān xìng tóu pí | dry scalp | 乾性頭皮要注意保濕。 | Gān xìng tóu pí yào zhùyì bǎoshī. | Dry scalp needs moisture. |
| 髮旋 | fà xuán | hair whorl; cowlick | 他的髮旋很明顯。 | Tā de fà xuán hěn míngxiǎn. | His cowlick is very noticeable. |
Hair Styles And Cut Names
| Traditional Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning | Example (ZH) | Example (Pinyin) | Translation (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 平頭 | píng tóu | buzz cut; very short cut | 他以前留平頭。 | Tā yǐqián liú píngtóu. | He used to wear a buzz cut. |
| 寸頭 | cùn tóu | short crew cut | 他剪了很俐落的寸頭。 | Tā jiǎn le hěn lìluo de cùn tóu. | He got a neat short crew cut. |
| 鮑伯頭 | bào bó tóu | bob haircut |
