叩头

叩頭

kòutóu

verb #60,676

Meanings

HSK 6

他跪下给爷爷叩头。

Tā guìxià gěi yéye kòutóu.

He knelt down and kowtowed to his grandfather.

HSK 7-9

旧时过年，晚辈要给长辈叩头拜年。

Jiùshí guònián, wǎnbèi yào gěi zhǎngbèi kòutóu bàinián.

In the old days, at New Year the young kowtowed to their elders to wish them a happy New Year.

叩头 is the written word. In speech people say 磕头, and 叩首 is more formal still. English 'kowtow' is borrowed from 叩头.

叩 kòu

头 tóu