外宾 (wài bīn) — foreign guest; foreign visitor

Definition

A formal term for a foreign guest or VIP visitor, typical in official reception and diplomatic contexts. Differs from 客人 (any guest, including Chinese) by emphasizing the visitor is from abroad.

noun
foreign guestforeign visitor
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 外宾。
    Wǒ men gōng sī fēi cháng zhòng shì jiē dài wài bīn de gōng zuò.
    Our company attaches great importance to the work of receiving foreign guests.
  • 外宾。
    Zhè cì huó dòng yāo qǐng le lái zì shí jǐ gè guó jiā de wài bīn.
    This event invited foreign guests from more than ten countries.
  • 外宾，。
    wài bīn Cān guān le wǒ men de xīn gōng chǎng, duì shēng chǎn jì shù fēi cháng gǎn xìng qù.
    The foreign guests visited our new factory and were very interested in the production technology.

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.

外wàiforeign
宾bīnguest

外 “foreign” + 宾 “guest” means a guest from another country.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
月
月yuè外wài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

Open 外 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.