点卯

點卯
diǎnmǎo
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 morning roll call
  2. 2 to clock in (just to be marked present)
  3. 3 to make a token appearance

Examples

HSK 3
Zhèzhǒng huìyì dàjiā dōu shì qù diǎnmǎo de.
Everyone just turns up to this kind of meeting for the sake of being counted.
HSK 7-9
Tā měitiān zǎoshang qù bàngōngshì diǎn ge mǎo jiù zǒu le.
Every morning he just shows his face at the office and then leaves.

Tips

history
is the 5-7am slot in the twelve earthly branches, the hour when imperial yamens held morning attendance. 点卯 literally means 'to mark the mǎo hour'; an absent official got a missing dot beside their name.
register
Modern usage is colloquial and slightly cynical: showing up only to be recorded as present, with no real engagement. Often in 点个卯 with the verb-measure 'do a quick roll-call appearance'.

Stroke Order

diǎn
mǎo