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久仰 (jiǔ yǎng) — (honorific) It's an honor to meet you; I've long admired you

Definition

A polite, honorific phrase used when meeting someone for the first time — 'I've long admired you.' Unlike 久违, which is for reunions after a long absence, 久仰 is only for first meetings.

verb
(honorific) It's an honor to meet youI've long admired you

Examples

  • 久仰，！
    jiǔ yǎng, Xìng huì xìng huì!
    It's an honor to meet you — delighted to make your acquaintance!
  • 久仰，。
    jiǔ yǎng Dà míng, jīn rì yí jiàn guǒ rán bù tóng fán xiǎng.
    I've long heard of your great name; meeting you today, you truly are extraordinary.
  • ，久仰！。
    Wáng zǒng, jiǔ yǎng! zǎo jiù xiǎng rèn shi nín le.
    General Manager Wang, it's an honor to meet you! I've been wanting to get to know you for a long time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

久jiǔlong
仰yǎngadmire

久, long, and 仰, admire, together mean long admired.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

久 likely came from a simple drawing of an arrow tip.

Open 久 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
卬
卬áng仰yǎng
Same sound today

In 仰, the left part 亻 represents a person, and the right part 卬 gives the sound.

Open 仰 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Greetings & Politeness

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