(guì) - expensive in Mandarin
guìTraditional: 貴
Translation
expensive
Word origin
贵 (guì) 'expensive' carries the shell radical 贝 (bèi), which marked words about money and value because cowrie shells were once used as currency. From a core sense of high in value the character extended to mean costly or expensive, and also honoured or noble, as in 贵姓 (your esteemed surname). The traditional form is 貴.
- Origin
- phono-semantic compound
- Root
- 贝 (shell/money, semantic) with a phonetic upper element
Stroke order
贵
Examples
。
This is too expensive.
。
Buying things at this shop is very expensive.
。
Expensive things are not necessarily good.
贵 (guì) means expensive.
Used in
Grammar articles
(11)Mandarin Adjectives as Stative Verbs: Why 'I Am Cold' Is 我冷, Not 我是冷
Mandarin Advanced Grammar (C1-C2 / HSK 6+): Chengyu, Classical Remnants, and Register
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Mandarin Comparatives: 比, 比较, 最, 跟…一样 and How to Say 'More', 'Most', 'Same As'
Mandarin Complements: 得 for Manner, Directional Endings, and How to Attach a Result to a Verb
Concession in Mandarin: 虽然...还是/但是, 不过, and 还是 (Although, Even So, Nonetheless)
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
Mandarin Possession with 的 (de): My, Your, His, and When Mandarin Drops the Particle
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Mandarin Relative Clauses with 的 (de): How the Modifier Goes Before the Noun
Mandarin Word Order: SVO, Topic-Comment, and the 把 Construction That Reorders Everything
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 22.