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伙计 (huǒ jì) — partner, buddy; a friendly address; shop assistant, waiter (in traditional or dialectal contexts)

Definition

伙计 has two senses: an informal address like 'pal / buddy', and a traditional shop term for 'shop assistant or waiter'. The buddy sense is colloquial and friendly; the shop sense sounds dated or dialectal today.

noun
partnerbuddya friendly addressshop assistantwaiter (in traditional or dialectal contexts)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，！
    Lǎo huǒ jì, nǐ lái le!
    Old pal, you're here!
  • 伙计。
    Diàn lǐ yǒu liǎng gè huǒ jì zài zhāo hu kè rén.
    There are two assistants in the shop attending to customers.
  • ，。
    Tā shì wǒ de lǎo huǒ jì, wǒ men yì qǐ gōng zuò shí nián le.
    He's my old partner; we've worked together for ten years.

Origin

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 夥; 伙 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 伙 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (大伙儿, 伙) it is 夥; in others (小伙子) it is 伙.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
多多duō
Sound part声符shēngfú
果
果guǒ夥huǒ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 夥 combines 多 (many) with 果 as a sound part. The simplified 伙 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 伙 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 計; 计 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 計 pairs 言 (say) with 十 (all). The simplified 计 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical shape.

Open 计 →
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