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客气 (kè qi) — (adjective) polite, courteous, formal in a socially appropriate way; (verb) to be polite; to stand on ceremony (used in 别客气, 不客气)

Definition

客气 is 'polite' with a sense of social distance — being overly polite can signal you shouldn't. 礼貌 is general good manners; 正式 is about a formal style or setting. Used in fixed phrases 别客气 / 不客气 ('you're welcome' / 'don't be so formal').

adjective
polite, courteous, formal in a socially appropriate way
verb
to be politeto stand on ceremony (used in 别客气, 不客气)

Examples

  • 客气。
    Tā shì yí wèi fēi cháng kè qi de kè rén.
    He is a very polite guest.
  • 客气，。
    Qǐng bié kè qi, yǒu shén me xū yào jǐn guǎn shuō.
    Please don't stand on ceremony; if you need anything, just say it.
  • ，“”。
    Tā bāng le wǒ hěn duō máng, wǒ shuō le shēng "bú kè qi".
    He helped me a lot, and I said 'you're welcome'.

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
气qìmanner

The guest sense of 客 combines with the manner sense of 气 to suggest polite formality.

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 →

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →
Appears in
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