貴

See also: 贵

Translingual

Etymology

Phono-semantic compound (形聲): phonetic 臾 + semantic 貝 (“money cowrie”)

Han character

貴 (radical 154 貝+5, 12 strokes, cangjie input 中一月山金 (LMBUC), four-corner 5080₆, composition ⿳中一貝)

1. expensive, costly, valuable

Derived characters

• 潰, 饋, 匱, 聵, 闠, 憒, 䰎, 穨, 僓, 樻, 殨, 鞼, 䜋, 繢, 隤, 遺

Descendants

• 贵

Antonyms

• 賎 (cheap)

References

• KangXi: page 1206, character 15
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 36704
• Dae Jaweon: page 1669, character 5
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 6, page 3632, character 9
• Unihan data for U+8CB4

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Chinese

		-
trad.		貴
simp.		贵

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): guì (gui⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄟˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gwai³
• Min Nan (POJ): kùi

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, Beijing)⁺
    • Pinyin: guì
    • Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄟˋ
    • Wade-Giles: kuei⁴
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: guey
    • IPA ^(key): /ku̯eɪ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: gwai³
    • Yale: gwai
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gwai³
    • IPA ^(key): /kʷɐi̯³³/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kùi
    • Tâi-lô: kuì
    • IPA (Taipei): /kui¹¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kui²¹/

Middle Chinese pronunciation (貴, reconstructed)
Character (貴), Pronunciation 1/1
Initial: 見 (28) Final: 微 Division: III			Openness: Closed Tone: Departing (H)			Fanqie: 居胃切
Zhengzhang Shangfang	Bernard Karlgren	Li Rong	Pan Wuyun	Edwin Pulleyblank	Wang Li	Shao Rongfen
/kʉiH/	/kwe̯iH/	/kiuəiH/	/kʷɨiH/	/kujH/	/kĭwəiH/	/kiuəiH/

Old Chinese pronunciation (貴, reconstructed)
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character					No.					Phonetic component					Rime group					Rime subdivision					Corresponding MC rime					Old Chinese					Notes
貴					4747					貴					隊					2					貴					/*kluds/					從蕢之古文臾得聲

Definitions

1. precious
2. your (an honorific term for a deity or person)

Adjective

貴

1. expensive, costly

   那件衣服很貴。是綢子的。 [MSC, trad.]

   那件衣服很贵。是绸子的。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nà jiàn yīfú hěn guì. Shì chóuzǐ de. [Pinyin]

   That dress is expensive. It's made of silk.

2. precious, valuable

   貴金屬 / 贵金属  ―  guìjīnshǔ  ―  precious metal

3. noble

Pronoun

1. (an honorific term for a deity, a person or an establishment) your

   您貴姓？ [MSC, trad.]

   您贵姓？ [MSC, simp.]

   Nín guì xìng? [Pinyin]

   What is your name?

   能否給我些貴公司更詳細的資料？ [MSC, trad.]

   能否给我些贵公司更详细的资料？ [MSC, simp.]

   Néngfǒu gěi wǒ xiē guì gōngsī gèng xiángxì de zīliào? [Pinyin]

   Could you give me more details about your company?

   應邀向貴雜誌投稿是一個榮譽。 [MSC, trad.]

   应邀向贵杂志投稿是一个荣誉。 [MSC, simp.]

   Yìngyāo xiàng guì zázhì tóugǎo shì yī ge róngyù. [Pinyin]

   It is an honour to be invited to contribute to your magazine.

Compounds

Compounds

貴賓 貴耳賤目 貴妃 貴府 貴干 貴庚 貴國 貴函 貴賤 貴金屬 貴客 貴戚 貴人 貴姓 貴恙 貴重 貴子 貴族

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Japanese

Kanji

貴

(grade 6 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Goon: き (ki)
• Kan’on: き (ki)
• Kun: あて (ate), あて.ぶ (貴ぶ, ate.bu), あて.はか (貴はか, ate.haka), あて.ばむ (貴ばむ, ate.bamu), あて.やか (貴やか, ate.yaka), たか.い (貴い, taka.i), たっと.い (貴い, tatto.i), たっと.ぶ (貴ぶ, tatto.bu), たっと.む (貴む, tatto.mu), とうと.い (貴い, tōto.i), とうと.ぶ (貴ぶ, tōto.bu), とうと.む (貴む, tōto.mu)
• Nanori: あてし (ateshi), き (ki), きさき (kisaki), きよ (kiyo), ぎ (gi), ただし (tadashi), たか (taka), たかし (takashi), もとむ (motomu), よし (yoshi),

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 貴 (kjwɨj^H, literally “precious, noble”).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ki]

Prefix

貴 (hiragana き, romaji ki-)

1. (archaic) added to nouns related to people to indicate honor or high status

   貴 (き)公子 (こうし)、貴 (き)婦人 (ふじん)

   kikōshi, kifujin

   [young] nobleman, noblewoman

2. (archaic) added to nouns to indicate respect and possession: your

   貴 (き)店 (てん)

   kiten

   your [honorable] store

Derived terms

Derived terms

貴様 (きさま) (kisama): you (derogatory: the original “noble” meaning degraded over time, becoming ironic, and then insulting)

Suffix

貴 (hiragana き, romaji -ki)

1. added after nouns related to people to express love and respect

Usage notes

This suffix meaning appears from roughly the Edo period.

Derived terms

Derived terms

兄貴 (あにき) (aniki): my [beloved] elder brother 伯父貴 (おじき) (ojiki): my [beloved] uncle

Etymology 2

Unknown. Possibly cognate with 当て (ate, “aim; expectation, hope”), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 当てる (ateru, “to face one thing towards another; to make something hit a target”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [a̠te̞]

Adjective

貴 (hiragana あて, romaji ate)

1. (archaic) noble, high-born
2. (archaic) refined, elegant

Noun

貴 (hiragana あて, romaji ate)

1. (archaic) one's own father (by extension of the “noble” meaning)
   • 1028-1107: 栄花物語 (Eiga Monogatari, “Tale of Splendor”)

     貴 (あて)は麿 (まろ)をば恋 (こい)しとは思 (おも)ひ給 (たま)はぬか

     ate wa maro oba koishi to wa omohitamahanu ka

     Doesn't father think I'm his darling?

Derived terms

Derived terms

貴人 (あてびと) (atebito): a nobleman; a person with a noble and refined bearing 貴 (あて)ぶ (atebu): to be refined and elegant 貴 (あて)ばむ (atebamu): to appear refined and elegant 貴 (あて)はか (atehaka): refined, elegant 貴 (あて)やか (ateyaka): refined, elegant

Etymology 3

Possibly a compound of 身 (mu, “body”) +‎ 霊 (chi, “spirit, essence, soul”). Alternatively, may be an alteration of 睦 (mutsu, “friendly, harmonious”, affix not used in isolation), probably caused by fusion with the Old Japanese emphatic nominal particle い (i) in a manner similar to the alteration between kamu (combining form) and kami (standalone form) for 神 (“god, spirit”), or kutsu (combining form) and kuchi (standalone form) for 口 (“mouth”).

Noun

貴 (hiragana むち, romaji muchi)

1. (archaic) an honorific term for a deity or person

   大日孁 (おおひるめ)の貴 (むち)

   ōhirume no muchi

   literally “honorable woman of the great sun”, an epithet for the sun goddess Amaterasu

Derived terms

Derived terms

汝 (なむち) (namuchi)

Etymology 4

Used as ateji in various names.

Names

Proper noun 貴 (hiragana あてし, romaji Ateshi) A male given name Proper noun 貴 (hiragana たか, romaji Taka) A male given name A surname​. Proper noun 貴 (hiragana たかし, romaji Takashi) A male given name Proper noun 貴 (hiragana ただし, romaji Tadashi) A male given name Proper noun 貴 (hiragana もとむ, romaji Motomu) A male given name Proper noun 貴 (hiragana きさき, romaji Kisaki) A surname​.

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Korean

Hanja

貴 (gwi) (hangeul 귀, revised gwi, McCune-Reischauer kwi, Yale kwi)

1. This entry needs a definition. Please add one, then remove {{defn}}.

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Vietnamese

Han character

貴 (quý, quí, quư)

1. This entry needs a definition. Please add one, then remove {{defn}}.