📖 Meaning
To genuinely submit and obey from the bottom of one's heart. It describes a state of sincere conviction and willing compliance, rather than mere outward obedience.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single definitive literary source; it is a classical four-character compound formed from the synonymous notions of 输心 (yielding one's heart) and 服意 (submitting one's mind). It appears in vernacular fiction and storyteller traditions of the Ming and Qing dynasties, where authors used it to depict characters who, after being persuaded or defeated, offer wholehearted allegiance rather than forced compliance.
💡 Example Usage
他对师傅的教诲输心服意，从此不再争辩。
He wholeheartedly submitted to his master's teachings and never argued again.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 输心服意
- Pinyin: shū xīn fú yì
- Literal Translation: yield heart, submit mind
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4