服从
fú cóng · HSK 5
to obey
🫡 服 = clothing/serve + 从 = follow; serving and following = obey
从 shows one person following another (人 behind 人), the classic etymology for 'follow'. 服 carries the sense of submit/serve. Together: follow orders, comply. Common in 服从命令 (obey orders).
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.
从 — two 人 (person) figures, one following the other
从 is a pictographic compound showing one person walking behind another, vividly depicting the act of following. The original meaning 'to follow' was extended to 'from' (the starting point one follows out of) and 'to obey'. The traditional form 從 added 辵 (movement) and 止 (foot) to reinforce the walking sense.