伺候 cìhou to serve
to serve; to wait upon
How to remember 伺候: 伺 to serve + 候 waiting for = to serve.
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How it is used
- To wait on / attend to someone - 她伺候生病的母亲 (tā cìhou shēngbìng de mǔqīn) she cares for her sick mother.
- Note the colloquial reading cìhou. Can be respectful care or a grudging 'wait on hand and foot'.
- Contrast 服务 (fúwù, provide service, commercial/neutral); 伺候 is personal, hands-on attending, sometimes with a servile tone.