上宾 (shàng bīn) — distinguished guest; guest of honor; (archaic) euphemism for the death of an emperor

Definition

上宾 (shǎng) refers to a distinguished guest or guest of honor at a banquet or formal event. It is a more literary, honorific term than everyday 客人.

noun
distinguished guestguest of honor(archaic) euphemism for the death of an emperor
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • ，上宾。
    Jīn wǎn de yàn huì, shàng bīn zuò zài zhǔ rén páng biān.
    At tonight's banquet, the guest of honor sat next to the host.
  • 上宾，。
    Zhè wèi lǎo jiào shòu bèi fèng wéi shàng bīn, dà jiā dōu hěn zūn jìng tā.
    This old professor was treated as a distinguished guest; everyone respected him.
  • 上宾。
    Gōng sī nián huì yāo qǐng le duō wèi shàng bīn chū xí.
    The company's annual meeting invited several distinguished guests to attend.

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.

上shànghigh
宾bīnguest

上 gives the idea of high or honored, and 宾 names a guest; together they mean a guest of honor.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

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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