顺 shùn — to obey; to follow; to arrange; to make reasonable; along; favorable
祝你一路顺风！Zhù nǐ yí lù shùn fēng!Have a pleasant journey!
Common words: 顺利 (shùn lì)、一路顺风 (yī lù shùn fēng)、顺便 (shùn biàn)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to obey"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to obey", including 顺 (shùn), 遵 (zūn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to obey" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 顺 (shùn), 遵 (zūn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span shùn, zūn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 顺 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 顺 shùnto obey; to follow; to arrange; to make reasonable; along; favorableUseful words: 顺利, 一路顺风
- 遵 zūnto observe; to obey; to followUseful words: 遵守, 遵循
Common words for these 2 "to obey" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 顺 (shùn) — so "to obey" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
顺利shùn lìsmoothly; without a hitch一路顺风yī lù shùn fēngto have a pleasant journey (idiom)顺便shùn biànconveniently; in passing; without much extra effort遵守zūn shǒuto comply with; to abide by; to respect (an agreement)遵循zūn xúnto follow; to abide by; to comply with遵照zūn zhàoin accordance with; to follow (the rules)
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to obey".
遵 zūn — to observe; to obey; to follow
我们都要自觉遵守学校的规定。Wǒ men dōu yào zì jué zūn shǒu xué xiào de guī dìng.We should all consciously obey the school rules.
Common words: 遵守 (zūn shǒu)、遵循 (zūn xún)、遵照 (zūn zhào)
All 2 characters
Open 顺、遵 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.