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客套话 (kè tào huà) — polite formula; formal words of courtesy; civilities

Definition

Polite formulas said out of social habit rather than sincerity — 'just being polite', not heartfelt words.

noun
polite formulaformal words of courtesycivilities

Examples

  • 客套话，。
    Tā shuō le hěn duō kè tào huà, dàn qí shí bìng bù zhēn xīn.
    He said a lot of polite formulas, but actually wasn't sincere.
  • ，客套话。
    Jiàn miàn shí, dà jiā dōu huì shuō yì xiē kè tào huà.
    When meeting, everyone will say some formal words of courtesy.
  • 客套话，。
    Wǒ bù xǐ huan nà xiē kè tào huà, tài jiǎ le.
    I don't like those polite formalities; they're too fake.

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.

客套polite formalities
客kèguest套tàoformula/courtesy
偏正Modifier + head
话huàwords

“客套” refers to formalities shown to guests, and “话” means words, so the whole word means polite words or civilities.

Characters in this word

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè客kè
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 客, 宀 is a roof and 各 gives the sound; the character meant a guest.

Open 客 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 大大dàlarge
  • 長長chánglong

套 is made from 大 (large) and 長 (long), originally for something long, with some reference to hair; it later came to mean a cover or a linked group.

Open 套 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
Greetings & Politeness

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