三跪九叩 sān guì jiǔ kòu

kowtow in deep obedience; show extreme submission

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to kneel three times and kowtow nine times (formal etiquette on meeting the emperor)

Characters

Character Meaning
三 sān HSK 1
three; 3; surname San
跪 guì HSK 6
to kneel
九 jiǔ HSK 1
nine; 9
叩 kòu
to knock; to kowtow; old variant of 叩kòu