贵
expensive; honorable (polite)
guì
What does 贵 mean?
贵 (guì) primarily means 'expensive' — the standard adjective for high price. 这个太贵了 ('this is too expensive') is the line every traveler learns to say while bargaining. But 贵 has a second, very different life as a polite honorific meaning 'honorable / esteemed (yours).' The fixed phrase 您贵姓？(nín guì xìng, 'your honorable surname?'
) is the polite way to ask someone's family name on first meeting; in business writing you'll see 贵公司 ('your esteemed company') and 贵国 ('your honorable country'). One nuance: when used as 'expensive,' 贵 usually takes 很 or 太 — Chinese adjectives feel incomplete bare. 这个贵 sounds like a comparison cut short; 这个很贵 / 这个太贵了 is natural. The opposite 'cheap' is 便宜 (piányi).
Note:
Character breakdown
expensive; precious; honorable (the bottom 贝 'shell/cowrie' was ancient money — anything tied to money/value)
Memory hook: The 贝 (cowrie shell = ancient currency) at the bottom signals money — and 贵 is what costs a lot of it.
Example sentences
这个太贵了，便宜一点儿吧。
Zhège tài guì le, piányi yìdiǎnr ba.
This is too expensive — a little cheaper, please.
spoken
北京的房子很贵。
Běijīng de fángzi hěn guì.
Houses in Beijing are very expensive.
neutral
您贵姓？
Nín guì xìng?
May I ask your surname?
polite
这件衣服贵不贵？
Zhè jiàn yīfu guì bu guì?
Is this piece of clothing expensive?
spoken
好的东西不一定很贵。
Hǎo de dōngxi bù yídìng hěn guì.
Good things aren't necessarily expensive.
neutral
Common phrases with 贵
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
贵 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
昂贵 is a more formal/written word for 'costly, pricey,' often used for luxury goods or in news writing. In speech, just say 贵 — 昂贵 sounds like an article.
Don't confuse 贵 with
桂 (cassia / osmanthus tree) has the wood radical 木 on the left and refers to the tree/flower 桂花. Same pronunciation, completely different meaning.
跪 ('to kneel') sounds identical and looks similar (foot radical 足 on the left). 贵 = expensive; 跪 = kneel down. Tonal pairs that beginners mishear.
鬼 ('ghost') is third tone, not fourth, but the syllables sound close. 贵 (guì, fourth tone, falling)