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制服 (zhì fú) — to subdue (physically, by force); to check, to bring under control (emotions, situations)

Definition

制服 (zhìfú, verb) means to subdue or bring under control by force — e.g. a criminal or a chaotic situation. Use 征服 for conquering an enemy or territory; 镇 is similar but often for calming or guarding.

verb
to subdue (physically, by force)to checkto bring under control (emotions, situations)

Examples

  • 制服。
    Jǐng chá yòng jǐng gùn zhì fú le nà ge zuì fàn.
    The police subdued that criminal with a baton.
  • 制服。
    Tā nǔ lì zhì fú zì jǐ de fèn nù qíng xù.
    She tried hard to control her anger.
  • 制服。
    Xiāo fáng yuán hěn kuài jiù zhì fú le zhè chǎng hùn luàn.
    The firefighters quickly brought this chaos under control.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

制zhìcontrol
服fúsubmit

制 and 服 both carry the sense of bringing under control, expressing subduing or restraint.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 制 pairs 朱 (tree) with 刀 (knife), showing the act of cutting a tree.

Open 制 →

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
凡凡fántray
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠬝
𠬝𠬝服fú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 服, the part 𠬝 was the original picture for 'to subdue'; the added left part 凡, a tray, later changed shape.

Open 服 →
Appears in
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