侍候

shìhòu

verb HSK 7 #29,702

Meanings

1 to wait upon; to serve
2 to attend to

Characters

to attend; to serve

to wait; to attend

Literally 'attend and wait' — serving someone with deference.

Examples

她侍候了婆婆二十年。

Tā shìhòu le pópo èrshí nián.

She waited on her mother-in-law for twenty years.

古代的宫女专门侍候皇后。

Gǔdài de gōngnǚ zhuānmén shìhòu huánghòu.

In ancient times, palace maids specifically attended to the empress.

Tips

usage

侍候 and 伺候 (cìhou) are near-synonyms, but 侍候 is more literary and formal, carrying a sense of respectful, devoted service. 伺候 is more colloquial and can be used sarcastically. In modern spoken Chinese, 伺候 is far more common.

Stroke Order

侍 shì

候 hòu