Kowtow

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Kowtow" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Kowtow
Kowtowing in Chinese funeral rituals
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	叩頭 or 磕頭
Simplified Chinese	叩头 or 磕头
Hanyu Pinyin	kòutóu or kētóu
Literal meaning	knock head, touch head
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin kòutóu or kētóu IPA [kʰôʊ.tʰǒʊ], [kʰɤ́.tʰǒʊ] Wu Romanization [kʰəʔdɤɯ] (磕頭 only) Hakka Romanization Hakka pronunciation: [kʰɛu˧˩ tʰɛu˩] (wikt:叩頭) Hakka pronunciation: [kʰat̚˩ tʰɛu˩] (wikt:磕頭, rare) Yue: Cantonese Jyutping kau tàuh / kau3 tau4 (wikt:叩頭) hahp tàuh / hap6 tau4 (wikt:磕頭, rare) Southern Min Hokkien POJ khàu-thâu (叩頭) kha̍p-thâu (磕頭)
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	quỳ lạy khấu đầu
Hán-Nôm	跪𥚄
Chữ Hán	叩頭
Korean name
Hangul	고두
Hanja	叩頭
Transcriptions Revised Romanization godu
Japanese name
Kanji	叩頭 or 磕頭(noun); 叩頭く (verb)
Hiragana	こうとう or かいとう (noun); ぬかずく or ぬかつく (verb) or ぬかづく (verb)
Transcriptions Romanization kōtō or historical kaitō (noun); nukazuku or nukatsuku or nukadzuku (verb)

A kowtow /ˈkaʊtaʊ/ is the act of deep respect shown by prostration, that is, kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. In Sinospheric culture, the kowtow is the highest sign of reverence. It was widely used to show reverence for one's elders, superiors, and especially the Emperor of China, as well as for religious and cultural objects of worship. In modern times, usage of the kowtow has been reduced.^[1]