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好客 (hào kè) — hospitable, friendly to guests

Definition

Describes someone who enjoys having and welcoming guests. Unlike 友好 (general friendliness toward anyone), 好客 specifically refers to actively receiving and entertaining visitors.

adjective
hospitablefriendly to guests

Examples

  • 好客。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng de lǎo bǎn fēi cháng hào kè.
    The owner of this restaurant is very hospitable.
  • 好客，。
    Yún nán rén hěn hào kè, zǒng shì rè qíng zhāo dài yuǎn fāng de kè rén.
    Yunnan people are very hospitable, always warmly entertaining guests from afar.
  • 好客，。
    Tā xìng gé hào kè, jiā lǐ jīng cháng yǒu péng you lái zuò kè.
    He has a hospitable personality, and friends often come to his home as guests.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

好hǎoto like
客kèguests

好 'to like' and 客 'guests' together mean enjoying having guests.

Characters in this word

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

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

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
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
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Personality & Traits

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.