如约 (rú yāo) — as agreed; as promised; on schedule; punctually

Definition

Idiom meaning 'as promised / as scheduled' — used when someone follows through on a prior agreement or appointment, often as a verb phrase (如约完成, 如约举行).

idiom
as agreedas promisedon schedulepunctually

Examples

  • 如约。
    Wǒ men gōng sī rú yāo wán chéng le xiàng mù.
    Our company completed the project as promised.
  • 如约。
    Tā rú yāo lái cān jiā le zhè cì huì yì.
    He came to this meeting as agreed.
  • 如约。
    Yùn dòng huì rú yāo zài qiū jì jǔ xíng.
    The sports meet was held in autumn as scheduled.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

如rúaccording to
约yuēagreement

如 means according to and 约 means agreement: as promised.

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ如rú
Same sound today

如 is built from 口 (mouth) for its meaning and 女 (woman) for its sound.

Open 如 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 約; 约 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo約yuē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 約 uses 糸, a rope, for its meaning and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 约 is a later shorthand.

Open 约 →

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