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折服 (zhé fú) — to subdue; to bring to submission; to be convinced; to admire

Definition

Literary 'to subdue / win over' — used in writing for being convinced by someone's talent, sincerity, or argument. Built on 折 (break) + 服 (yield).

verb
to subdueto bring to submissionto be convincedto admire

Examples

  • 折服。
    Tā bèi nǐ de cái huá suǒ zhé fú.
    He was convinced by your talent.
  • 折服。
    Tā de zhēn chéng zhé fú le wǒ.
    His sincerity convinced me.
  • ，折服。
    Miàn duì kùn nan, tā cóng bù zhé fú.
    She never gives in to difficulties.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

折zhébreak
服fúsubmit

折 suggests breaking resistance, and 服 gives the resulting submission.

Characters in this word

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

  • 屮𣏄𣏄a tree {{zh-m|*木}} cut in half
  • 斤斤jīnaxe

The shape originally showed an axe (斤) cutting a tree in half; in 折 the left part is now written as a hand.

Open 折 →

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
Conflict & AgreementEmotions & Feelings

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