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贵姓 (guì xìng) — (polite phrase) your honorable surname? used to respectfully ask someone's surname

Definition

A polite, formal phrase used to ask someone's surname (e.g., 您贵姓?). It uses 贵 as a humble honorific; 姓 alone is the everyday word for 'surname'.

noun
(polite phrase) your honorable surname? used to respectfully ask someone's surname

Examples

  • 贵姓？
    Qǐng wèn nín guì xìng?
    May I ask your surname?
  • ，贵姓。
    Wǒ hái bú rèn shi tā, bù zhī dào tā guì xìng.
    I don't know him yet, so I don't know his surname.
  • ，贵姓。
    Chū cì jiàn miàn, wèn nín guì xìng shì lǐ mào.
    It's polite to ask your surname when meeting for the first time.

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.

贵guìhonorable
姓xìngsurname

贵 (honorable) and 姓 (surname) combine as a polite ask for someone's surname.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貴; 贵 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèimoney cowrie
Sound part声符shēngfú
臾
臾yú貴guì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 貴 uses 貝, a money cowrie, for meaning and 臾 for sound. The simplified 贵 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the old parts.

Open 贵 →

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
女女nǚwoman; female
Sound part声符shēngfú
生
生shēng姓xìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

姓 combines 女 (woman) with 生, which gives the pronunciation.

Open 姓 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Identity & TitlesGreetings & Politeness

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