仆役 (pú yì) — servant | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

servant

Measure word · 个

仆役。
Zhè ge pú yì zuò shì fēi cháng qín kuai.
This servant is very diligent in his work.
仆役。
Zhǔ rén fēn fù pú yì qù zhǔn bèi wǎn cān.
The master instructed the servant to prepare dinner.
仆役。
Yǐ qián de pú yì dà duō zhù zài zhǔ rén jiā zhōng.
In the past, most servants lived in the master's house.

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.

仆púservant

役yìlaborer

仆 and 役 both refer to servants or laborers, forming a general term for servants.

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

卜

Same sound today

The left side 人 marks the character as related to a person, and the right side 卜 gives its sound.

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.