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驾临 (jià lín) — (honorific, formal) to honor with one's presence; to come (used only of a distinguished guest)

Definition

驾临 (jiàlín) is an honorific, formal idiom meaning a distinguished guest 'arrives' or 'honors with one's presence.' Used only for VIPs in formal announcements; in everyday speech just say 来.

idiom
(honorific, formal) to honor with one's presenceto come (used only of a distinguished guest)

Examples

  • 驾临！
    Huān yíng nín jià lín!
    Welcome your esteemed presence!
  • 驾临，。
    Tīng shuō dǒng shì zhǎng míng tiān jià lín gōng sī, dà jiā dōu zhǔn bèi hǎo le.
    I heard the chairman will honor the company with his presence tomorrow; everyone is ready.
  • 驾临，。
    Gè wèi jiā bīn jià lín huó dòng xiàn chǎng, chǎng miàn fēi cháng rè nao.
    The distinguished guests graced the event with their presence; the scene was very lively.

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.

驾jiàtravel by carriage
临línarrive

驾 suggests travel by carriage and 临 means arrive; the word describes a distinguished arrival.

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 駕; 驾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎ
Sound part声符shēngfú
加
加jiā駕jià
Same sound today

In the traditional form 駕, 馬 relates to a horse, and 加 gives the sound; this story is about 駕, not the simplified 驾.

Open 驾 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臨; 临 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 臨, 人 is a person, 臣 is an eye, and 品 is objects, showing a person looking down at objects.

Open 临 →
Appears in
Greetings & Politeness

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