说服 (shuō fú) — to persuade, to convince | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

说服 (shuōfú) means to persuade someone by argument, getting them to change their mind or agree. Stronger than 劝说, which is gentler 'to advise/exhort' and may not succeed; 服 on its own is rarely used for persuasion — 说服 is the set verb.

verb

to persuadeto convince

Examples

说服。
shuō fú Le wǒ qù cān jiā bǐ sài.
He persuaded me to participate in the competition.
。
Nǐ hěn nán shuō fú tā gǎi biàn zhǔ yì.
It's very hard to persuade him to change his mind.
说服。
Tā zhōng yú bèi shuō fú le.
He was finally persuaded.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

说 (talk) and 服 (obey) combine to mean talk someone into accepting.

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 說; 说 is its simplified writing.

言兌說

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

兌

兌duì說shuō

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 說 pairs 言 (meaning) with 兌 (sound); the simplified 说 is not the form described here.

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.

Appears in

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