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侍 (shì) — to serve, to attend, to wait upon (bound form, used in compounds)

Definition

Bound form meaning 'to serve / attend' (an attendant), only used in compounds like 侍者 or 侍奉. It is formal and historical, not used alone in modern speech.

bound form
to serveto attendto wait upon (bound form, used in compounds)

Examples

  • 。
    Nà wèi shì zhě hěn yǒu lǐ mào.
    That waiter is very polite.
  • 。
    Tā yì zhí shì fèng nián mài de mǔ qīn.
    She has been attending to her elderly mother.
  • 。
    Gǔ dài huáng dì yǒu dà liàng shì cóng.
    Ancient emperors had many attendants.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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.

Appears in
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