kowtow
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
kowtow
- /ˈkaʊˌtaʊ/
Rhymes with -aʊ
Where it comes from
From either Cantonese 叩頭 /叩头 (kau³ tau⁴) or Mandarin 叩頭 /叩头 (kòutóu). Literally, “knock head”.
verb kowtows · kowtowing · kowtowed · kotoo · kotow
- To kneel and bow low enough to touch one’s forehead to the ground. When the weather turned cold, the tears that he shed would become frozen like veins; the blood on his forehead from kowtowing would also freeze and would not drip.
- To grovel, act in a very submissive manner; to show obeisance to (someone or something) in such a manner; to bow. I suppose you're going to be nice to Odie and kowtow to Jon and lick the mailman's boots! I don't like you already.
- To bow very deeply.
noun kowtows · kotoo · kotow · ko-tow · kow-tow
-
The act of kowtowing.
Three elders dressed in their long silk ceremonial gowns perform the kowtow before the altar in their clan ancestral hall.
Similar: dogeza
Translations
Every language
verb kneel such that forehead touches ground
| Español | postrarse, prostrarse (disused) |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 머리를 조아리다 meori-reul joarida, 고두(叩頭)하다 goduhada |
| 日本語 | 叩頭く nukatsuku, 土下座をする dogeza o suru |
| 中文 | 叩頭 /叩头 kòutóu, 磕頭 /磕头 kētóu |
| Português | fazer o kowtow, reverenciar |
| Français | se prosterner, s'agenouiller |
| Deutsch | einen Kotau machen |
| Русский | де́лать коуто́у délatʹ koutóu |
| Tiếng Việt | lạy, khấu đầu, quỳ lạy, khúm núm, quỵ luỵ |
| العربية | سَجَدَ sajada, تَمَلَّقَ tamallaqa, رَكَعَ rakaʕa |
verb act submissively
| Deutsch | kriechen, kuschen, katzbuckeln, dienern, zu Kreuze kriechen, den Kotau machen |
|---|---|
| Română | ploconi, căciuli |
| Русский | преклоня́ться preklonjátʹsja, пресмыка́ться presmykátʹsja, раболе́пствовать rabolépstvovatʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | khúm núm, quỳ lạy, quỵ luỵ |
| עברית | התרפס hitrapés, התחנף hitkhanéf, השתעבד hishtaabéd |
verb bow deeply
| Português | prostrar-se |
|---|---|
| Русский | де́лать ни́зкий покло́н délatʹ nízkij poklón |
noun kowtowing
| Español | postración |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 고두 godu |
| 日本語 | 叩頭 kōtō, 土下座 dogeza |
| 中文 | 叩頭 /叩头 kòutóu, 磕頭 /磕头 kētóu |
| Português | kowtow |
| Français | kowtow |
| Deutsch | Kotau |
| Русский | коуто́у koutóu, покло́н poklón |
| Tiếng Việt | khấu đầu, sự quỳ lạy, sự khúm núm |
Talk about this word "kowtow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/kowtow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. kowtow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/kowtow "kowtow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/kowtow.Cite this
@misc{kowtow_2026,
title = {kowtow},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/kowtow},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
