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守候 (shǒu hòu) — to wait for (with care, patience, or eagerness); to watch over; to take care of (a sick person or vulnerable someone)

Definition

守候 is 'wait for' or 'watch over' with emotional weight — patient, devoted, sometimes anxious. 等候 is neutral/formal waiting; 守 adds the sense of guarding or staying by someone/something.

verb
to wait for (with care, patience, or eagerness)to watch overto take care of (a sick person or vulnerable someone)

Examples

  • 守候。
    Tā zài yī yuàn lǐ shǒu hòu shēng bìng de fù qīn.
    She stayed at the hospital to watch over her sick father.
  • 守候。
    Hěn duō qiú mí zài jī chǎng shǒu hòu tā men zuì xǐ huan de qiú yuán.
    Many fans waited at the airport for their favorite player.
  • 守候，。
    Tā měi tiān shǒu hòu zài mén kǒu, pàn wàng nǚ ér huí lái.
    He waited at the door every day, hoping his daughter would come back.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

守shǒukeep watch
候hòuwait

The 守 and 候 join keeping watch and waiting into patient guarding or waiting.

Characters in this word

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

  • 宀宀miánroof; building
  • 寸寸cùnhand

守 pairs 宀, a roof or building, with 寸, a hand, to show a hand guarding a place.

Open 守 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
矦
矦hóu候hòu
Same sound today

候 combines 亻, relating to people, with 矦, which gives the sound.

Open 候 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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