敬启 (jìng qǐ) — (formal letter) salutation meaning 'To whom it may concern' or 'Dear Sir/Madam'; (formal letter) closing meaning 'Respectfully yours' or 'Sincerely'

Definition

A set phrase used in formal or business letters. 敬启 opens the letter (roughly 'To whom it may concern') or closes it ('Respectfully yours'), signaling respect to the reader.

idiom
(formal letter) salutation meaning 'To whom it may concern' or 'Dear Sir/Madam'(formal letter) closing meaning 'Respectfully yours' or 'Sincerely'

Examples

  • 敬启：。
    jìng qǐ: Zī zhì hán zī xún chǎn pǐn xìn xī.
    To whom it may concern: We are writing to inquire about product information.
  • '敬启'。
    Tā zài xìn mò xiě le ' jìng qǐ ' bìng qiān le míng.
    He wrote 'Respectfully yours' at the end of the letter and signed his name.
  • ，'敬启'。
    Xiě gōng hán shí, kāi tóu cháng yòng ' jìng qǐ ' biǎo shì zūn jìng.
    When writing official correspondence, 'To whom it may concern' is often used at the beginning to show respect.

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.

敬jìngrespectful
启qǐopen/report

敬 means respectfully and 启 means to open or report, so 敬启 is a formal letter phrase for respectfully opening or reporting.

Characters in this word

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

  • 茍茍jìkneeling person or sitting dog
  • 攴攴pūhand holding a stick, authority

敬 is possibly formed from 茍, a kneeling person or sitting dog, and 攴, a hand holding a stick.

Open 敬 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 啟; 启 is its simplified writing.

For 启, the traditional form 啟 comes from an earlier shape with 戶 (door) and 又 (hand), showing a hand opening a door.

Open 启 →

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