Wiktionary

貴

See also: 貫 and 贵
貴 U+8CB4, 貴
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8CB4
← 貳
[U+8CB3] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 貵 →
[U+8CB5]

Translingual

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Han character

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

Derived characters

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Descendants

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References

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

Chinese

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trad. 貴
simp. 贵
alternative forms 䝿
𧷈
𧸋
𡭙

Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character 貴
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
   
Characters in the same phonetic series (貴) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
藬 *l'uːl
僓 *l̥ʰuːlʔ, *ɡluːds
頹 *l'uːl
穨 *l'uːl
蘈 *l'uːl
隤 *l'uːl
墤 *l'uːl, *kʰruːds
尵 *l'uːl, *r'uːl
蹪 *l'uːl
瀢 *l'uːlʔ, *lulʔ
鞼 *kluːl, *ɡruls
膭 *kluːl, *ɡluːls
憒 *kluːds
靧 *ɡluːds
潰 *ɡluːls
繢 *ɡluːds
嬇 *ɡluːds, *kʰruːds
殨 *ɡluːds
闠 *ɡluːds
簣 *kʰruːds, *ɡruds
嘳 *kʰruːds, *kʰruds
蕢 *kʰruːds, *ɡruds
聵 *ŋɡruːds
樻 *kʰruds, *ɡruds
䙡 *kʰruds, *kʰluds
匱 *ɡruds
臾 *ɡruds, *lo
饋 *ɡruls
櫃 *ɡruds
遺 *lul, *luls
壝 *lul, *lulʔ
瞶 *luls, *kluls
貴 *kluds

Simplified from 䝿 (臾 → 𠀐). Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *kluds) : phonetic 臾 (OC *ɡruds, *lo) + semantic 貝 (“money cowrie”).

Etymology

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From Sino-Tibetan; compare Tibetan གུས (gus, “respect, reverence, devotion”) (Schuessler, 2007; STEDT).

Pronunciation

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Note:
  • 2jy - colloquial;
  • 2kue - literary.
Rime
Character 貴
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 見 (28)
Final (韻) 微 (21)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Closed
Division (等) III
Fanqie 居胃切
Baxter kjw+jH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/kʉiH/
Pan
Wuyun 		/kʷɨiH/
Shao
Rongfen 		/kiuəiH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/kujH/
Li
Rong 		/kiuəiH/
Wang
Li 		/kĭwəiH/
Bernard
Karlgren 		/kwe̯iH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		guì
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		gwai3
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 貴
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		guì
Middle
Chinese 		‹ kjw+jH ›
Old
Chinese 		/*kuj-s/
English precious; expensive

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 貴
Reading # 1/1
No. 4747
Phonetic
component 		貴
Rime
group 		隊
Rime
subdivision 		2
Corresponding
MC rime 		貴
Old
Chinese 		/*kluds/
Notes 從蕢之古文臾得聲

Definitions

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貴

  1. expensive; costly
    Antonyms: 廉 (lián), 賤／贱 (jiàn)
    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 chóuzi de. [Pinyin]
    That dress is expensive. It's made of silk.
  2. precious; valuable
    可貴／可贵  ―  kěguì  ―  valuable
    貴金屬／贵金属  ―  guìjīnshǔ  ―  precious metal
  3. superior; noble
    貴族／贵族  ―  guìzú  ―  nobility
  4. to regard as valuable
    成功貴在堅持／成功贵在坚持  ―  chénggōng guì zài jiānchí  ―  Perseverance is vital to success.
    人貴有自知之明／人贵有自知之明  ―  rén guì yǒu zìzhīzhīmíng  ―  A smart man knows how little he knows.
  5. (humble) your (to a deity, person or establishment)
    貴國／贵国  ―  guìguó  ―  your country
    您貴姓？／您贵姓？  ―  Nín guìxìng?  ―  What is your surname?
    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?
  6. Short for 貴州／贵州 (Guìzhōu).
    雲貴／云贵  ―  Yúnguì  ―  Yunnan and Guizhou
  7. a surname

Synonyms

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Dialectal synonyms of 貴 (“expensive; costly”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Classical Chinese 貴
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 貴, 昂貴, 高昂
Northeastern Mandarin Beijing 貴
Taiwan 貴
Malaysia 貴
Singapore 貴
Jilu Mandarin Jinan 貴
Central Plains Mandarin Xi'an 貴
Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 貴
Wuhan 貴
Guilin 貴
Jianghuai Mandarin Yangzhou 貴
Hefei 貴
Cantonese Guangzhou 貴
Hong Kong 貴
Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou) 貴
Hong Kong (Ting Kok) 貴
Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau) 貴
Yangjiang 貴
Singapore (Guangfu) 貴
Gan Nanchang 貴
Hakka Meixian 貴
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 貴
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) 貴
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) 貴
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) 貴
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) 貴
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) 貴
Hong Kong 貴
Jin Taiyuan 貴
Northern Min Jian'ou 貴
Eastern Min Fuzhou 貴
Southern Min Xiamen 貴
Singapore (Hokkien) 貴
Manila (Hokkien) 貴
Chaozhou 貴
Zhongshan Min Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi) 貴
Wu Suzhou 貴
Wenzhou 貴
Xiang Changsha 貴
Shuangfeng 貴

Usage notes

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In Hong Kong and Taiwan, a space is often left before this word when it is used as a humble term of "your" to show respect when writing formal letters, and this practice is known as 抬頭／抬头 (táitóu). This practice, however, is not common in Mainland China.

Compounds

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References

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Japanese

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Kanji

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貴

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

  1. expensive (たかい)
  2. worthful, precious (たかい, とうとい, たっとい)
  3. superior, aristocratic (たかい, とうとい, たっとい, えらい, あてやか)
  4. to esteem (とうとぶ, たっとぶ)

Readings

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Compounds

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Compounds

Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
貴
き
Grade: 6
goon

From Middle Chinese 貴 (MC kjw+jH, literally “precious, noble, superior”).

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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貴(き) • (ki-) 

  1. (archaic) added to nouns related to people to indicate superiority
    貴(き)公(こう)子(し)、貴(き)婦(ふ)人(じん)、貴(き)賓(ひん)
    kikōshi, kifujin, kihin
    [young] nobleman, noblewoman, superior guest
  2. (archaic) added to nouns to indicate respect and possession: your
    貴(き)店(てん)
    kiten
    your [honorable] store
Derived terms
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Derived terms

Suffix

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貴(き) • (-ki) 

  1. added after nouns related to people to express love and respect
Usage notes
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This suffix meaning appears from roughly the Edo period.

Derived terms
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Derived terms

Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
貴
あて
Grade: 6
kun'yomi

Unknown. Possibly cognate with 当て (ate, “aim; expectation, hope”), the 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 当(あ)てる (ateru, “to face one thing towards another; to make something hit a target”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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貴(あて) • (ate) †-nari

  1. (archaic) noble, aristocratic, high-born
  2. (archaic) refined, elegant
Inflection
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Classical conjugation of "貴なり" (ナリ活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形) 貴なら あてなら atenara
Continuative (連用形) 貴に[1]
貴なり[2]		 あてに
あてなり		 ateni
atenari
Terminal (終止形) 貴なり あてなり atenari
Attributive (連体形) 貴なる あてなる atenaru
Realis (已然形) 貴なれ あてなれ atenare
Imperative (命令形) 貴なれ あてなれ atenare
Key constructions
Negative 貴ならず あてならず atenarazu
Contrasting conjunction 貴なれど あてなれど atenaredo
Causal conjunction 貴なれば あてなれば atenareba
Conditional conjunction 貴ならば あてならば atenaraba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge) 貴なりき あてなりき atenariki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge) 貴なりけり あてなりけり atenarikeri
Adverbial 貴に あてに ateni
[1]Without auxiliary verb.
[2]With auxiliary verb.

Noun

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貴(あて) • (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
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Derived terms

Etymology 3

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Kanji in this term
貴
むち
Grade: 6
kun'yomi

Possibly a compound of 身 (mu, “body”) +‎ 霊 (chi, “spirit, essence, soul”).[1] Alternatively, may be an alteration of 睦 (mutsu, “friendly, harmonious”, affix not used in isolation),[1] 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”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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貴(むち) • (muchi) 

  1. (archaic) an honorific term for a deity or person
    大(おお)日(ひ)孁(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
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Etymology 4

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Used as ateji in various names.

Names

Proper noun

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貴(あてし) • (Ateshi) 

  1. a male given name

Proper noun

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貴(たか) • (Taka) 

  1. a male given name
  2. a surname

Proper noun

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貴(たかし) • (Takashi) 

  1. a male given name

Proper noun

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貴(ただし) • (Tadashi) 

  1. a male given name

Proper noun

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貴(もとむ) • (Motomu) 

  1. a male given name

Proper noun

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貴(きさき) • (Kisaki) 

  1. a surname

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Korean

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Hanja

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貴 (eumhun 귀할 귀 (gwihal gwi))

  1. hanja form? of 귀 (“precious”)

Vietnamese

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Han character

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貴: Hán Nôm readings: quý, quí, quới

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
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