忠仆 (zhōng pū) — loyal servant

Definition

A literary, old-fashioned term for a servant devoted to a master — rarely used today except in historical or fictional writing. Implies long service and personal sacrifice, unlike modern neutral words for staff.

noun
loyal servant

Examples

  • 忠仆。
    Zhè wèi zhōng pū gēn suí zhǔ rén èr shí nián le.
    This loyal servant has followed his master for twenty years.
  • ，忠仆。
    Zài gǔ dài, zhōng pū shì guì zú jiā tíng zhōng hěn zhòng yào de rén.
    In ancient times, loyal servants were very important people in noble families.
  • 忠仆。
    Gù shi lǐ de zhōng pū wèi le zhǔ rén xī shēng le zì jǐ.
    The loyal servant in the story sacrificed himself for his master.

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.

忠zhōngloyal
仆púservant

The 忠 loyal and 仆 servant combine to mean a faithful servant.

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
中
中zhōng忠zhōng
Same sound today

忠 pairs 心, meaning heart, with 中, which gives its sound.

Open 忠 →

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 →

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