服役 (fú yì) — to serve (in the military, on active duty); to…

Definition

服役 means to serve on active military duty (or similar mandatory service). It's a separable verb: 服了三年役, with the duration placed between 服 and 役.

verb

to serve (in the military, on active duty)to serve a term (of mandatory service, e.g., military or prison)

服役。
Tā yǐ jīng zài bù duì fú yì sān nián le.
He has already served in the army for three years.
。
Tā fú le liǎng nián yì jiù tuì wǔ le.
He served two years and then was discharged.
服役。
Hěn duō nián qīng rén xuǎn zé fú yì ér bú shì shàng dà xué.
Many young people choose to serve in the military instead of going to university.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

“服” means to serve and “役” means duty or service, so together they mean to serve in a role.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠬝

𠬝𠬝服fú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 服, the part 𠬝 was the original picture for 'to subdue'; the added left part 凡, a tray, later changed shape.

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

彳殳役

役 pairs 彳 (movement) with 殳 (a weapon like a spear) to show someone moving with a weapon to guard a border, giving the idea of a duty or task.

Appears in