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献殷勤 (xiàn yīn qín) — to ingratiate oneself, to fawn, to curry favor

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'to fawn / curry favor' by going out of one's way to please someone, often for personal gain. The verb carries a negative judgment — the behavior is seen as insincere or manipulative.

verb
to ingratiate oneselfto fawnto curry favor

Examples

  • ，献殷勤。
    Tā wèi le dé dào gōng zuò, bù tíng dì duì lǎo bǎn xiàn yīn qín.
    He keeps fawning over the boss in order to get the job.
  • ，。
    Tā gāng lái gōng sī jiù xiàn le yí cì yīn qín, ràng rén jué de hěn jiǎ.
    He had just joined the company and already made a show of flattery, which felt very fake.
  • 献殷勤，。
    Bié zài wǒ miàn qián xiàn yīn qín le, wǒ bù chī zhè yí tào.
    Stop working your charms on me — that doesn't work on me.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

献xiànoffer
殷勤ardent diligence
殷yīnardent勤qíndiligent
联合Coordinate

献, offer, takes 殷勤, ardent diligence, as what is offered.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獻; 献 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬳
鬳yàn獻xiàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 獻 combines 鬳, which gives the sound, with 犬, a dog. The simplified 献 is a later shorthand.

Open 献 →

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

In 殷, 㐆 shows a swollen-bellied person, and 又 and 矢 show a hand aiming an arrow-like object at the belly, giving painful earnestness; a mallet variant was linked to deep red.

Open 殷 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 勤 →
Appears in
Attitudes & OpinionsFriends & Social

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