Meaning of 拜访
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to pay a visit; to call on
How to use 拜访
拜访 is a polite, somewhat formal verb for visiting a person, often someone senior, a client, or a family you respect. It usually takes a person as its object, not a place. Example: 我明天去拜访王老师。(Wǒ míngtiān qù bàifǎng Wáng lǎoshī.) I am going to call on Teacher Wang tomorrow.
拜 (bài) shows two hands joined in a respectful bow, and 访 (fǎng) has the speech radical 讠 plus 方, so you go somewhere to talk. Bowing politely and then talking with someone is paying them a visit.
Common mistake: Learners often use 拜访 for visiting places, as in 拜访北京. For places use 参观 (cānguān) or 去, or use 访问 for official visits to a country. Also watch the right side of 拜: it has four horizontal strokes, not three.
拜访 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
拜 bài · to bow · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
访 fǎng · to visit · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 拜访.
| 访问 | fǎngwèn | to visit; to call on (a person or place); (computing) to visit (a website); to access (a n |
| 采访 | cǎifǎng | to interview; to gather news |
| 礼拜 | lǐbài | to attend a religious service; (coll.) week |
| 崇拜 | chóngbài | to worship; adoration |
| 出访 | chūfǎng | to go and visit in an official capacity or for investigation |
| 拜托 | bàituō | to request sb to do sth; please! |
| 来访 | láifǎng | to pay a visit |
| 访谈 | fǎngtán | to visit and discuss; to interview |
| 拜见 | bàijiàn | to pay a formal visit; to call to pay respects |
| 拜会 | bàihuì | (often used in the context of diplomacy) to meet with; to pay a visit to; to call on |
| 拜年 | bàinián | to pay a New Year call; to wish sb a Happy New Year |
| 互访 | hùfǎng | exchange visits |
Questions about 拜访
What does 拜访 mean?
拜访 (bàifǎng) means "to pay a visit; to call on" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 拜访?
拜访 is made of 2 characters: 拜 (9 strokes), 访 (6 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 拜访 an HSK word?
Yes. 拜访 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 拜访 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 拜访 is written 拜訪.
What is the difference between 拜访 and 看望?
看望 (kànwàng) means to go and see someone you care about, like a sick friend or elderly relative, and it feels warm and personal. 拜访 stresses politeness and respect, so it fits business calls and visits to people of higher status.
Can I use 拜访 when talking about my own visit to a friend?
Yes, but it sounds humble and formal, so it works best in polite speech or writing, such as 改天再来拜访您 (gǎitiān zài lái bàifǎng nín), I will call on you another day. With close friends in casual talk, people usually just say 去找他 or 去他家玩.