卧 wò to crouch
to crouch; to lie down
How to remember 卧: 臣 minister + 卜 fortune teller = to crouch. The minister ducks behind the garden wall when the fortune teller walks by, and is forced to crouch there for ten minutes.
Component breakdown
卧 = 臣 minister + 卜 fortune teller
- 臣 minister
- 卜 fortune teller
The minister ducks behind the garden wall when the fortune teller walks by, and is forced to crouch there for ten minutes.
How it is used
- Literary/formal verb for "to lie down" - in everyday spoken Chinese, use 躺 tǎng instead; 卧 mostly survives inside fixed compounds now.
- 卧室 wòshì "bedroom" is the everyday noun you'll actually use; 卧铺 wòpù "sleeper berth" is the word for a bed on an overnight train.
- 卧底 wòdǐ "undercover agent" and the idiom 卧虎藏龙 wòhǔ cánglóng "crouching tiger, hidden dragon" show the character's more vivid literary life.
Words with 卧
Example sentences
- 我直接走向卧室。 Wǒ zhíjiē zǒuxiàng wòshì.I go straight toward the bedroom.