kè rén
guest
餐厅里有很多客人。
cāntīng lǐ yǒu hěnduō kèrén.
There are many guests in the restaurant.
欢迎光临，请问您几位客人？
huānyíng guānglín, qǐngwèn nín jǐ wèi kèrén?
Welcome, how many guests are there?
这位客人点了两道菜。
zhè wèi kèrén diǎnle liǎngdào cài.
This guest ordered two dishes.
宾客 (bīnkè)
guest
顾客 (gùkè)
customer
主人 (zhǔ rén)
host
宾客 (bīn kè)
guest
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The Chinese word 客人 (kèrén) for "guest" is composed of two characters: 客 (kè) and 人 (rén). The character 客 originally meant "stranger" or "foreigner", and was often used in ancient Chinese texts to refer to people from other countries or regions. Over time, the meaning of 客 expanded to include any person who is not a member of one's own family or household, and eventually came to be used as a general term for "guest". The character 人 (rén) simply means "person", and is used in this compound word to indicate that a guest is a type of person. Together, the two characters 客人 (kèrén) form a compound word that means "guest".
