唯唯

唯唯

1. (literary) to say respectful words of compliance; to say a bunch of yes sirs and madams

   • 齊王曰：“雖然，略以子之所聞見而言之。”僕對曰：“唯唯。臣聞楚有七澤，嘗見其一，未覩其餘也。臣之所見，蓋特其小小者耳，名曰雲夢。” [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     齐王曰：“虽然，略以子之所闻见而言之。”仆对曰：“唯唯。臣闻楚有七泽，尝见其一，未睹其余也。臣之所见，盖特其小小者耳，名曰云梦。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. 150 BCE, 司馬相如,《子虛賦》(Rhapsody of Master Emptiness)

     Qíwáng yuē: “Suīrán, lüè yǐ zǐ zhī suǒ wénjiàn ér yán zhī.” Pú duì yuē: “Wěiwěi. Chén wén Chǔ yǒu qī zé, cháng jiàn qí yī, wèi dǔ qíyú yě. Chén zhī suǒjiàn, gài tè qí xiǎo xiǎo zhě ěr, míng yuē Yúnmèng.” [Pinyin]

     The King of Ch’i said: “Even if it is so, please tell me roughly what you have heard and seen.” I, your slave answered: “Yes, yes. Your servant has heard that Ch’u has seven marshes of which I once saw one. I have not yet had a look at the others. What your servant has seen seems just to have been the smallest one, the name of which is Yün-meng." (Hans van Ess, transl.)

   • 光曰：“昌邑王行昏亂，恐危社稷，如何？”羣臣皆驚鄂失色，莫敢發言，但唯唯而已。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     光曰：“昌邑王行昏乱，恐危社稷，如何？”群臣皆惊鄂失色，莫敢发言，但唯唯而已。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Book of Han, circa 1^st century CE

     Guāng yuē: “Chāngyì wáng xíng hūnluàn, kǒng wēi shèjì, rúhé?” Qúnchén jiē jīng'è shīsè, mò gǎn fāyán, dàn wěiwěi éryǐ. [Pinyin]

     Huo Guang announced, "The King of Changyi behaves in a benighted and disorderly fashion and I fear for the safety of the altars of the soil and grain! What do you think?" The various officials all turned pale in astonishment. No one ventured to speak out, but all merely mumbled their agreement. (Translated by Burton Watson)