服服帖帖 (fú fu tiē tiē) — (idiom) thoroughly submissive, docile, completely obedient

Definition

A vivid reduplicated idiom meaning 'completely docile and obedient' — emphasizes the change to a state of total submission, stronger than plain 听话.

idiom
thoroughly submissivedocilecompletely obedient

Examples

  • ，服服帖帖。
    Tā bèi lǐng dǎo xùn le yí dùn hòu, biàn de fú fu tiē tiē de.
    After being scolded by the boss, he became completely obedient.
  • 服服帖帖，。
    Xiǎo gǒu bèi xùn liàn dé hěn fú fu tiē tiē, zhǔ rén shuō shén me tā jiù zuò shén me.
    The puppy was trained to be very docile — whatever its owner says, it does.
  • ，服服帖帖。
    Zài yán gé de zhì dù xià, yuán gōng men gè gè fú fu tiē tiē dì fú cóng ān pái.
    Under strict regulations, every employee obeys orders without complaint.

Origin

Reduplicated word
构词法gòucífǎ
重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

服服submitting
服fúsubmit服fúsubmit
帖帖docility
帖tiēdocile帖tiēdocile

服 conveys submitting and 帖 conveys docility, together painting complete obedience.

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
凡凡fántray
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.

Open 服 →

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
凡凡fántray
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.

Open 服 →

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
巾巾jīna square item of cloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn帖tiě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 巾 shows a square item of cloth. The right part 占 gives the sound.

Open 帖 →

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
巾巾jīna square item of cloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn帖tiě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 巾 shows a square item of cloth. The right part 占 gives the sound.

Open 帖 →

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