佩服
pèifú · HSK 7
admire
👏 佩服 = wear (佩) + be convinced/submit (服): you admire someone you bow to
佩 means to wear or carry on you; 服 means to be convinced or to submit. To admire (佩服) is to carry someone in such regard that you yield to them. Sound: pèifú starts like pay — you pay respect to those you admire.
服 — 月 (moon/flesh) + 𠬝 (kneeling figure with hand)
Originally depicted a hand subduing a kneeling person beside a boat (later simplified to 月), suggesting submission or service. The meaning extended from 'submit/serve' to 'clothing' (what one wears in service) and 'to take' as in medicine. The phonetic role of 𠬝 helps fix the reading fú.