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屈服 (qū fú) — to yield, to submit, to surrender

Definition

屈服 is to give in or succumb, usually to pressure or difficulty. 投降 is the stronger 'surrender' (especially giving up a fight), while 战胜 and 打败 describe the winning side.

verb
to yieldto submitto surrender

Examples

  • ，屈服。
    Miàn duì qiáng quán, tā cóng bù qū fú.
    Faced with power, he never yields.
  • 屈服。
    Tā qū fú yú shēng huó de yā lì.
    She succumbs to the pressure of life.
  • 屈服。
    Wǒ men bù néng qīng yì xiàng kùn nan qū fú.
    We cannot easily yield to difficulties.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

屈qūbend
服fúsubmit

“屈” and “服” both carry the idea of bending or submitting, so together they mean to yield.

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
尾尾wěitail
Sound part声符shēngfú
出
出chū屈qū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屈 was built from 出 for sound and 尾 for tail; the tail part later changed into the top of 屈.

Open 屈 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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