DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

點頭哈腰

简点头哈腰 · 繁點頭哈腰

Mandarin · pinyin diǎn tóu hā yāo

to nod one's head and bow (idiom); bowing and scraping
unctuous fawning

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Characters in this entry

點: diǎn · dot, speck, spot; point, degree
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
哈: hā · sound of laughter
腰: yāo · waist; kidney
点: diǎn · dot, speck, spot; point, degree
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–2–1–1 · dian3 tou2 ha1 yao1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

點頭哈腰 · find source passages ↗ · 点头哈腰 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dim2 tau4 haa1 jiu1

Cantonese word readings for 點頭哈腰. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to uncritically and enthusiastically support someone; (specifically) to be excessively but superficially obsequious

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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