屈膝 (qū xī) — to kneel; to bend one's knee (literal); (figurative) to surrender; to submit humiliatingly; to bow down
Definition
Literally 'bend the knee' (kneel down), but most often used figuratively for surrendering or giving in humiliatingly. The examples all show the figurative sense: bowing to pressure rather than the physical act of kneeling.
verb
to kneelto bend one's knee (literal)(figurative) to surrenderto submit humiliatinglyto bow down
Examples
- ，。Tā nìng sǐ bù qū xī, jué bú xiàng dí rén dī tóu.He would rather die than kneel; he will never bow to the enemy.
- ，。Wèi le zūn yán, tā cóng wèi qū guò yí cì xī.For the sake of dignity, he has never once bent his knee.
- ，屈膝。Zài yā lì miàn qián, tā zuì zhōng xuǎn zé le qū xī tóu xiáng.Faced with pressure, he ultimately chose to kneel and surrender.
Appears in
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