/ lóu
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 to stoop; to bend the back (in deference)

Examples

HSK 7-9
Gǔrén lǚ shēn yǐ shì jìngyì.
The ancients bowed their backs to show respect.
HSK 7-9
Tā yǔlǚ zhe mànmàn zǒujìn dàtīng.
Bent-backed, he slowly entered the hall.

Tips

register
The lǚ reading is literary and classical, meaning to bow or stoop the body, often as a sign of deference. It pairs with in 伛偻 ('stooped / hunched'). Everyday speech instead uses the lóu reading inside 佝偻.

Components

radical
rén
person
The person radical, a side form of . It frames as a word about the human body, here a bent or hunched back.
phonetic
lóu
to drag; empty
Gives the sound lóu. The same phonetic appears in a family of lóu/lǚ-sounding characters such as and .

Stroke Order