贵客 (guì kè) — honored guest; distinguished guest

Definition

noun

honored guestdistinguished guest

Measure word · 位

Examples

贵客，。
Jīn tiān jiā lǐ lái le jǐ wèi guì kè, wǒ men yào hǎo hǎo zhāo dài.
Several honored guests came to our home today; we must treat them well.
贵客。
Zhè wèi guì kè shì cóng guó wài zhuān chéng gǎn lái de.
This distinguished guest came all the way from abroad.
贵客，。
Qǐng guì kè shàng zuò, wǒ men mǎ shàng kāi xí.
Please take the seat of honor, honored guest — we'll start the banquet shortly.

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.

贵guìhonored

客kèguest

贵 marks honor, 客 a guest, so an honored guest.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貴; 贵 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèimoney cowrie

Sound part声符shēngfú

臾

臾yú貴guì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 貴 uses 貝, a money cowrie, for meaning and 臾 for sound. The simplified 贵 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the old parts.

Open 贵 →

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

宀各客

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 →

Appears in