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奴仆 (nú pú) — servant, lackey

Definition

A literary, written-style word for a servant or lackey, emphasizing subservience. Conveys a stronger tone of blind obedience than everyday 仆人.

noun
servantlackey
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，奴仆。
    Zài gǔ dài, nú pú de dài yù fēi cháng chà.
    In ancient times, servants were treated very poorly.
  • 奴仆。
    Zhè ge fù háo jiā lǐ yǒu hěn duō nú pú.
    This wealthy man's household has many servants.
  • 奴仆。
    Tā xiàng yí gè nú pú yí yàng tīng cóng zhǔ rén de mìng lìng.
    He obeys his master's orders like a lackey.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

奴núslave
仆púservant

奴 (slave) and 仆 (servant) are parallel terms for a servant.

Characters in this word

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

奴 shows 又 (a hand) and 女 (a woman): a hand capturing and ordering a woman around.

Open 奴 →

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
人人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
卜
卜bǔ仆pú
Same sound today

The left side 人 marks the character as related to a person, and the right side 卜 gives its sound.

Open 仆 →
Appears in
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