效 犬 马 之 劳

xiào quǎn mǎ zhī láodictionary entry

to render one's humble services / to be at sb's beck and call

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-42f9ada1a1ef86b6. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

效犬馬之勞 效犬马之劳 [xiao4 quan3 ma3 zhi1 lao2] /to render one's humble services/to be at sb's beck and call/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 效犬馬之勞

效
xiào
to imitate (variant of 效[xiào]) / effect / efficacy / to imitate
犬
quǎn
(literary) dog / Kangxi radical 94
马
mǎ
horse / CL:匹[pǐ] / horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess / knight in Western chess
Mǎ
surname Ma / abbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Mǎ lái xī yà]
之
zhī
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de]) / him / her / it
劳
láo
(bound form) to toil / labor / (bound form) laborer / (bound form) meritorious deed / (bound form) fatigue / to put sb to the trouble (of doing sth) / (bound form) to express appreciation for sb's efforts (Taiwan pr. [lào])
Láo
surname Lao

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.