行规 (háng guī) — unwritten rules and professional etiquette of a trade or guild

Definition

行规 (hángguī) means the unwritten rules and professional etiquette of a trade or guild — norms insiders follow but won't find written down. Note the reading háng (as in 行业 'industry'), not xíng.

noun
unwritten rules and professional etiquette of a trade or guild

Examples

  • 行规，。
    Lǎo shǒu yì rén bì xū zūn shǒu háng guī, fǒu zé huì bèi tóng háng pái chì.
    Old craftsmen must follow the guild regulations, otherwise they will be ostracized by their peers.
  • 行规。
    Zhè ge háng yè de háng guī jìn zhǐ è xìng jìng zhēng.
    The professional etiquette of this industry prohibits cutthroat competition.
  • ，行规。
    Tā gāng rù háng, hái bù shú xī zhè lǐ de háng guī.
    He just entered the trade and is not yet familiar with the unwritten rules here.

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.

行xíngtrade or guild
规guīrule

行 means trade or guild and 规 means rule, together referring to rules of a trade.

Characters in this word

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 規; 规 is its simplified writing.

  • 夫夫fūhusband
  • 見見jiànsee

The simplified 规 is a shorthand; the traditional form 規 shows a cross-shaped compass in its early drawing, and its later form uses 夫 and 見.

Open 规 →

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