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侍候 (shì hòu) — to serve, to wait upon

Definition

侍候 (shìhòu) means to attend to or wait on someone personally — a person-to-person act of care (parents, guests, a master). Stronger and more personal than the broader 服务; near-synonym 伺候, but 侍候 leans toward deference to a superior or elder.

verb
to serveto wait upon
Easily confused

Examples

  • 侍候。
    Tā měi tiān dōu yào shì hòu nián mài de fù mǔ.
    She has to take care of her elderly parents every day.
  • 侍候。
    Zhè wèi guǎn jiā hěn huì shì hòu kè rén.
    This butler is very good at attending to guests.
  • 侍候。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù bù xí guàn bèi rén shì hòu.
    He has never been used to being waited on since childhood.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

侍shìserve
候hòuwait upon

'侍' and '候' both convey attending or waiting upon someone, giving the sense of serving.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺅Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì侍shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

侍 has 人 (person) paired with 寺, which gives the sound.

Open 侍 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
矦
矦hóu候hòu
Same sound today

候 combines 亻, relating to people, with 矦, which gives the sound.

Open 候 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Social Roles & Status

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