敬奉 (jìng fèng) — to piously worship or make offerings (to deities or ancestors); to respectfully offer or present (a gift, document, etc.); to respectfully act according to (instructions, advice)

Definition

A formal verb meaning to reverently offer or present — to deities/ancestors, or respectfully to a superior. Use it for worship and ceremonial gift-giving, not everyday actions.

verb
to piously worship or make offerings (to deities or ancestors)to respectfully offer or present (a gift, document, etc.)to respectfully act according to (instructions, advice)

Examples

  • ，敬奉。
    Měi féng chūn jié, tā men dōu huì jìng fèng zǔ xiān.
    Every Spring Festival, they piously worship their ancestors.
  • 敬奉。
    Tā jìng fèng gěi lǎo shī yí fèn zhēn guì de lǐ wù.
    He respectfully presented a precious gift to the teacher.
  • 敬奉。
    Wǒ men yīng dāng jìng fèng zhǎng bèi de jiào huì.
    We should respectfully follow the teachings of our elders.

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.

敬jìngrespectful
奉fèngoffer

敬 adds respect, and 奉 means offer or worship, giving a pious or respectful offering.

Characters in this word

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

  • 茍茍jìkneeling person or sitting dog
  • 攴攴pūhand holding a stick, authority

敬 is possibly formed from 茍, a kneeling person or sitting dog, and 攴, a hand holding a stick.

Open 敬 →

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
廾廾gǒngtwo hands
Sound part声符shēngfú
丰
丰fēng奉fèng
Same sound today

奉 pairs 丰 for the pronunciation with 廾, 'two hands', as the meaning part.

Open 奉 →

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