折 腰

zhé yāodictionary entry

to bend at the waist / to bow / (fig.) to bow to / to submit

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-6d3441d3850e30c6. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

折腰折腰 [zhe2 yao1] /to bend at the waist; to bow/(fig.) to bow to; to submit/

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.

折
shé
to snap / to break (a stick, a bone etc) / (bound form) to sustain a loss (in business)
zhē
to turn sth over / to turn upside down / to tip sth out (of a container)
zhé
to break / to fracture / to snap / to suffer loss / to bend / to twist / to turn / to change direction / convinced / to convert into (currency) / discount / rebate / tenth (in price) / classifier for theatrical scenes / to fold / accounts book
腰
yāo
the waist and lower back / (bound form) kidney of an animal (as food) / the waist of trousers or a skirt / (metonym) money pouch / pocket / (bound form) the middle section of an upright object (mountain, bottle etc)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.