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报效

報效
bàoxiào
verb #37,216

Meanings

  1. 1 to render service in repayment of kindness
  2. 2 to dedicate one's efforts to (one's country, benefactor, etc.)

Examples

他立志学成回国，报效祖国。
Tā lìzhì xué chéng huí guó, bàoxiào zǔguó.
He resolved to finish his studies, return home, and serve his motherland.
古人常说，士为知己者死，以报效恩情。
Gǔrén cháng shuō, shì wèi zhījǐ zhě sǐ, yǐ bàoxiào ēnqíng.
The ancients said: a gentleman dies for one who truly understands him, to repay that kindness.

Tips

register
报效 carries strong moral and patriotic weight, far beyond plain '回报' (huíbào, to repay). Strongest collocation by far is 报效祖国 'serve and repay one's motherland'; also 报效国家, 报效社会. Use it when the speaker is consciously framing their work as a moral debt being repaid, not for everyday favors.
history
The word combines 报 (to repay) and 效 (to render service / be effective). Classical use is wide — generals 'repaid' their lord with military service, scholars 'repaid' their ruler with loyal counsel — but modern usage has narrowed almost entirely to repaying the nation that raised or educated you.

Stroke Order

报 bào
效 xiào