口服 (kǒu fú) — to take (medicine) orally; to profess to be convinced (verbally but not truly)

Definition

Literally 'mouth-take': used in medicine for taking drugs orally (rather than by injection). Also means to profess verbal agreement while not really convinced.

verb
to take (medicine) orallyto profess to be convinced (verbally but not truly)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 口服。
    Zhè ge yào xū yào měi tiān kǒu fú liǎng cì.
    This medicine needs to be taken orally twice a day.
  • ，。
    Tā suī rán biǎo miàn shàng kǒu fú le, dàn xīn lǐ hái shì bù fú qì.
    Although he outwardly professed to be convinced, he was still unconvinced inside.
  • 口服，。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì kǒu fú yòng yào, bú yào dǎ zhēn.
    The doctor recommends taking the medicine orally rather than getting an injection.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

口kǒumouth/oral
服fútake/submit

口 means mouth or oral and 服 means take or submit, so 口服 denotes doing something by mouth.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.