服软 (fú ruǎn) — to admit defeat, to concede; to apologize, to yield (to persuasion)

Definition

服软 means to back down and admit you were wrong after resisting — yielding under pressure, not a casual 'sorry'. Often used to describe someone who finally gives in after refusing to.

verb
to admit defeatto concedeto apologizeto yield (to persuasion)

Examples

  • ，服软。
    Tā yì kāi shǐ bù kěn rèn cuò, zuì hòu hái shì fú ruǎn le.
    He refused to admit his mistake at first, but in the end he conceded.
  • ，服软。
    Zài zhēng chǎo zhōng, tā cóng lái bù kěn gēn duì fāng fú ruǎn.
    In an argument, she never yields to the other side.
  • ，。
    Tā zhè cì zhōng yú fú le ruǎn, xiàng mā ma dào le qiàn.
    This time he finally gave in and apologized to his mom.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

服fúsubmit
软ruǎnsoft

服 means submit, and 软 adds softness, so it means yielding or admitting fault.

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
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 →

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 軟; 软 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
耎
耎ruǎn軟ruǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 軟 pairs 車 (carriage) with 耎 as a sound part; 耎 depicted a man under rain, and simplified 软 uses a later right side instead of 耎.

Open 软 →

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