恭敬不如从命
gōng​jìng​bù​rú​cóng​mìng

better to obey than to be polite

  • created sense approved 恭敬不如从命/恭敬不如從命 · gōng​jìng​bù​rú​cóng​mìng · better to obey than to be polite — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    恭敬不如从命 / 恭敬不如從命

    gōng​jìng​bù​rú​cóng​mìng

    better to obey than to be polite

    (idiom) deference is no substitute for obedience; used as a polite way to accept an invitation, request, or gift from another person

    恭敬 (literal) → 恭敬 · gōng​jìng · respectful; respect 不如 (literal) → 不如 · bù​rú · it would be better to 从命 (literal) → 从命/從命 · cóng​mìng · to obey

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense