男宾 (nán bīn) — male guest; male visitor

Definition

noun
male guestmale visitor
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 男宾。
    Zhè cì yàn huì qǐng le hěn duō nán bīn.
    Many male guests were invited to this banquet.
  • 男宾。
    nán bīn Xiū xi shì zài èr lóu yòu cè.
    The male guests' lounge is on the right side of the second floor.
  • 男宾。
    Jiǔ diàn wèi nán bīn tí gōng le zhuān yòng tōng dào.
    The hotel provides a dedicated passage for male guests.

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.

男nánmale
宾bīnguest

男 (male) plus 宾 (guest) gives male guest.

Characters in this word

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

男 is made from 田, a field, and 力, strength. It shows a man working with strength in a field.

Open 男 →

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 賓; 宾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡧍
𡧍𡧍賓bīn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 賓 is built from 𡧍 and 貝: 𡧍 gives the sound, and 貝 relates to the meaning. The simplified 宾 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 宾 →

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