客官 (kè guān) — (historical) sir; customer (polite address used by service providers to patrons)

Definition

A polite, old-fashioned way for shop or inn staff to address a customer — a set phrase from traditional storytelling, not used in modern daily speech.

noun
(historical) sircustomer (polite address used by service providers to patrons)
Measure word · 位
Easily confused

Examples

  • 客官，？
    kè guān, Nín shì yòng cān hái shì zhù diàn?
    Sir, are you here to dine or to stay at the inn?
  • ：“客官，！”
    Xiǎo èr rè qíng dì zhāo hu dào: "kè guān, lǐ biān qǐng!"
    The waiter greeted warmly, 'Sir, please come inside!'
  • 客官，。
    Nà wèi kè guān fù le yín zi, zhuǎn shēn lí kāi le chá guǎn.
    That customer paid the silver and turned to leave the teahouse.

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.

客kèguest
官guānofficial

客 means guest or customer, and 官 was a respectful title, so 客官 addressed a customer.

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
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 →

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

  • 宀宀mián
  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤

官 pairs 宀, a roof, with 𠂤, rooms beneath it, to depict an official building.

Open 官 →

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