字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

V.I.P., guest

On’yomi ヒン
Kun’yomi まろうど、したがう

Origin

This character combines the sound component at the top, which hints at the pronunciation "ヒン", with the shell or money radical at the bottom, which suggests value and precious things. In ancient China, valuable shells were used as currency and as gifts for honored guests, so pairing the shell radical with a sound hint created a character meaning someone precious or valued—a guest worthy of respect. The fifteen strokes reflect the formal, elaborate nature of welcoming an important visitor.

賓 15 strokes

Components

  • 宀+少 sound hint top
  • 貝 radical bottom

A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.

Common words

  • 貴賓 きひん noble visitor
  • 国賓 こくひん state guest
  • 来賓 らいひん guest; visitor
  • 賓客 ひんきゃく guest of honour; guest of honor
  • 迎賓館 げいひんかん reception hall (esp. for visiting state dignitaries); guest house

Related kanji

Same radical

Reference

Strokes
15
Kangxi radical
154
Formation type
Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
#1677 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 1
Unicode
U+08CD3