招待券 (zhāo dài quàn) — complimentary ticket; free pass

Definition

noun
complimentary ticketfree pass
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 招待券。
    Wǒ péng you gěi le wǒ yì zhāng zhǎn lǎn de zhāo dài quàn.
    My friend gave me a complimentary ticket for the exhibition.
  • 招待券。
    Zhè zhāng zhāo dài quàn kě yǐ zài mén kǒu duì huàn rù chǎng quàn.
    This complimentary ticket can be exchanged for an admission pass at the entrance.
  • 招待券。
    Tā yòng yì zhāng zhāo dài quàn miǎn fèi cān guān le bó wù guǎn.
    He used a complimentary ticket to visit the museum for free.

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.

招待hospitality
招zhāoinvite待dàitreat
联合Side by side
券quànticket

A 券 is a ticket for 招待, where 招 invites guests and 待 treats them, giving a free pass.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
召
召zhào招zhāo
Same sound today

招 pairs 扌, the hand part, with 召, which gives the sound, to show beckoning with the hand.

Open 招 →

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
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì待dài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

待 is built from 彳 on the left and 寺 on the right; 彳 is tied to the meaning, and 寺 gives the sound.

Open 待 →

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
刀刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠔉
𠔉𠔉券quàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

券 combines 𠔉 for the sound with 刀 (knife), because ancient contracts were cut in half.

Open 券 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.