贵 meaning and stroke order
Expensive; (bound form) highly valued; precious; (bound form) noble; of high rank
How to write 贵, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Meaning of 贵
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- expensive
- (bound form) highly valued; precious
- (bound form) noble; of high rank
- (prefix) (honorific) your
How 贵 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Money.
贝 gives the meaning.
Radical: 贝 (sea shell), shared by 63 characters on this site.
How to remember 贵
The bottom part is 贝 (bèi), a shell, which stood for money in ancient China. Picture a pile of shells stacked under 中 and 一 on top: anything that needs that much money is expensive.
贵 is the everyday word for expensive and often appears with 太 (tài) or 很 (hěn). It also means precious or noble in words like 宝贵 (bǎoguì) and 贵族 (guìzú). Example: 这件衣服太贵了。(Zhè jiàn yīfu tài guì le.) This piece of clothing is too expensive.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write the top as a full 中 with a long stroke reaching the 一, but the vertical stroke stops above it, so the top looks squashed. Also keep the fourth tone guì, and do not confuse it with 鬼 (guǐ), which means ghost.
Common words with 贵
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 宝贵 | bǎoguì | valuable; precious | HSK 4 |
| 珍贵 | zhēnguì | precious | HSK 5 |
| 贵族 | guìzú | lord; nobility | HSK 7-9 |
| 高贵 | gāoguì | grandeur; noble | HSK 7-9 |
| 昂贵 | ángguì | expensive; costly | HSK 7-9 |
| 贵宾 | guìbīn | honored guest; distinguished guest | HSK 7-9 |
| 尊贵 | zūnguì | respected; respectable | HSK 7-9 |
| 贵重 | guìzhòng | precious | HSK 7-9 |
| 可贵 | kěguì | to be treasured; praiseworthy | HSK 7-9 |
| 名贵 | míngguì | famous and valuable; rare | HSK 7-9 |
| 有何贵干 | yǒuhéguìgàn | What (noble errand) brings you here?; May I help you? | |
| 贵姓 | guìxìng | what is your surname?; (May I ask) your surname? | |
| 贵人 | guìrén | nobility; person of high rank | |
| 富贵 | fùguì | riches and honor |
贵 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 贵
Learning 贵 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 贵
How many strokes are in 贵?
贵 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 贵 mean?
贵 (guì) means expensive; (bound form) highly valued; precious; (bound form) noble; of high rank. A common word with it is 宝贵 (bǎoguì), meaning "valuable; precious".
How do you pronounce 贵?
贵 is pronounced guì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 贵?
The radical of 贵 is 贝, which carries the idea of "sea shell". Dictionaries list 贵 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 贵?
The traditional form of 贵 is 貴. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 贵 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 贵 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 贵 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
How do I ask someone's name politely with 贵?
Say 您贵姓？(Nín guì xìng?), which means "What is your honorable surname?" Answer with 我姓王 (Wǒ xìng Wáng), not with 贵, because you do not use the honorific about yourself.
What is the opposite of 贵?
The opposite is 便宜 (piányi), cheap. When bargaining you might say 太贵了，便宜一点吧。(Tài guì le, piányi yìdiǎn ba.) That's too expensive, make it a bit cheaper.