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老主顾 (lǎo zhǔ gù) — regular customer, loyal client

Definition

老主顾 means a 'regular customer' — someone who keeps coming back, implying loyalty and a long relationship with a shop. The 老 prefix (not 旧的) signals familiarity rather than age.

noun
regular customerloyal client

Examples

  • ，。
    Zhè wèi shì diàn lǐ de lǎo zhǔ gù, měi yuè dōu lái yí cì.
    This is a regular customer of the shop; they come once a month.
  • 。
    Lǎo zhǔ gù mǎi dōng xī kě yǐ dǎ zhé.
    Regular customers can get a discount when buying things.
  • 。
    Nà jiā lǐ fà diàn de lǎo zhǔ gù hěn duō.
    That barbershop has many regular customers.

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.

老lǎolong-standing
主顾customers
主zhǔpatron顾gùcustomer
联合Coordinate

老 means long-standing, and 主顾 means customers, so 老主顾 names regular clients.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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 顧; 顾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
雇
雇gù顧gù
Same sound today

The traditional form 顧 combines 雇 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; 顾 is the simplified form of 顧.

Open 顾 →
Appears in
Business & CommerceShopping & Errands

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