待人接物 (dài rén jiē wù) — the way one treats people; social conduct; interpersonal manner

Definition

A four-character idiom for how one treats others and conducts oneself in social situations. Often used in formal writing to praise someone's mature or polished interpersonal manner.

idiom
the way one treats peoplesocial conductinterpersonal manner

Examples

  • 待人接物，。
    Tā dài rén jiē wù hěn yǒu lǐ mào, dà jiā dōu xǐ huan tā.
    He is very polite in how he treats people, and everyone likes him.
  • 待人接物。
    Zhè běn shū jiào nǐ rú hé dài rén jiē wù.
    This book teaches you how to interact with people.
  • 待人接物。
    Tā zài dài rén jiē wù fāng miàn fēi cháng chéng shú.
    He is very mature in his social conduct.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

待人treat people
待dàitreat人rénpeople
动宾Verb + object
接物deal with things
接jiēreceive/deal with物wùthings
动宾Verb + object

Treating people in “待人” and dealing with things in “接物” together describe how one behaves socially.

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
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì待dài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

待 is built from 彳 on the left and 寺 on the right; 彳 is tied to the meaning, and 寺 gives the sound.

Open 待 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
妾
妾qiè接jiē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, matching the sense of receiving something in the hand, while 妾 gives the character its sound.

Open 接 →

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
牛牛niú
Sound part声符shēngfú
勿
勿wù物wù
Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Open 物 →

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