逢迎 (féng yíng) — to fawn on, to ingratiate oneself with (someone in power), to curry favor

Definition

Formal/literary verb for 'to fawn on / curry favor' with those in power. Carries a strongly negative tone — closer to 'toady to' than to polite flattery. Often paired with 上司 or 权贵.

verb
to fawn onto ingratiate oneself with (someone in power)to curry favor

Examples

  • ，逢迎。
    Tā wèi le shēng zhí, zǒng shì féng yíng shàng si.
    He always fawns on his boss to get a promotion.
  • 逢迎。
    Zhèng zhí de rén bú xiè yú féng yíng quán guì.
    Upright people disdain currying favor with the powerful.
  • 逢迎。
    Zhè zhǒng féng yíng de xíng wéi ràng rén fǎn gǎn.
    This kind of sycophantic behavior is repulsive.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

逢féngmeet
迎yíngwelcome

逢 “meet” and 迎 “welcome” combine to mean catering to someone.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
夆
夆páng逢féng
Same sound today

In 逢, 辶 is the walking part and 夆 is the sound part.

Open 逢 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
卬
卬áng迎yíng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迎 is made of 辶 (written fully as 辵) for the meaning and 卬 for the sound.

Open 迎 →

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