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逆来顺受 (nì lái shùn shòu) — to meekly submit to adversity; to resign oneself to hardship without protest

Definition

An idiom for meekly accepting mistreatment or hardship without protest — passive and resigned, often with a negative judgment on the person's lack of resistance.

idiom
to meekly submit to adversityto resign oneself to hardship without protest

Examples

  • ，逆来顺受，。
    Miàn duì bù gōng, tā xuǎn zé nì lái shùn shòu, cóng bù fǎn kàng.
    Faced with injustice, he chooses to meekly submit and never resists.
  • 逆来顺受。
    Zhè zhǒng nì lái shùn shòu de xìng gé ràng tā chī le hěn duō kuī.
    This kind of resigned-to-adversity personality caused him to suffer many losses.
  • 逆来顺受，。
    Tā bú zài nì lái shùn shòu, ér shì yǒng gǎn dì zhàn chū lái wéi quán.
    She no longer meekly submits to adversity but bravely stands up to defend her rights.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

逆来adversity comes
逆nìadversity来láicomes
主谓Subject + predicate
顺受meekly accepts
顺shùnmeekly受shòuaccepts
偏正Modifier + head

When 逆 (adversity) 来, one 顺 (meekly) 受 it, meaning resignation to hardship.

Characters in this word

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

  • 辶辵chuòmovement
  • 屰屰nìgo against

The 辶 part shows movement, and 屰 gives the sound and the sense of going against, so the whole depicts moving in the opposite direction.

Open 逆 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 順; 顺 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
川
川chuān順shùn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 順 pairs 川 (river), which gives the sound, with 頁 (head); the picture is a head in a river, following the current. The simplified 顺 is a shorthand.

Open 顺 →

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

受 possibly combines 爪 and 又 as hands with 舟 as a boat, to show handing something over.

Open 受 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesPersonality & Traits

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