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HSK 4

顾客

customer; client

nounneutral
顾
gù4th tone
客
kè4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
gùkè
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 4
Strokes
19
Register
neutral
Measure word
位 / 个

Stroke order for 顾客

顾客 is written with 19 strokes (顾: 10, 客: 9). The animation replays automatically.

What does 顾客 mean?

顾客 (gùkè) means 'customer' or 'client' — a person who buys goods or services from a shop, restaurant, or business.

Literally 'one who visits/patronizes' (顾 'to look after / patronize' + 客 'guest'), it frames the buyer as a valued guest, which is why service slogans say 顾客就是上帝 ('the customer is God/king'). Two differences from English: first, 顾客 specifically refers to the shopper or patron of a retail or service business; for a professional client (of a lawyer, agency, or bank) Chinese often prefers 客户 (kèhù), which stresses an ongoing business relationship.

Second, unlike English where 'customer' and 'guest' are separate, 顾客 literally contains 客 'guest,' reflecting a service culture that treats buyers as guests to be honored. Register is neutral and standard in commerce.

Character by character

顾gùto look after; to patronize; to attend to
+
客kèguest; visitor
=
顾客

Memory hook: 顾 (patronize) + 客 (guest) = a patronizing guest, i.e. a customer.

Example sentences

这家店的顾客很多。

Zhè jiā diàn de gùkè hěn duō.

This shop has a lot of customers.

neutral

服务员对每位顾客都很客气。

Fúwùyuán duì měi wèi gùkè dōu hěn kèqi.

The staff is polite to every customer.

neutral

他是我们的老顾客。

Tā shì wǒmen de lǎo gùkè.

He's one of our regular customers.

spoken

我们要让顾客感到满意。

Wǒmen yào ràng gùkè gǎndào mǎnyì.

We want to make customers feel satisfied.

written

Common phrases with 顾客

老顾客lǎo gùkèregular customer
接待顾客jiēdài gùkèto serve/receive customers
顾客满意gùkè mǎnyìcustomer satisfaction
顾客服务gùkè fúwùcustomer service

Synonyms

客户kèhù

客户 is a business client with an ongoing account relationship — used by banks, agencies, and B2B firms. 顾客 is a retail shopper or diner. A bank has 客户; a supermarket has 顾客.

客人kèrén

客人 means 'guest / visitor,' including people you host at home or invited guests. 顾客 is specifically a paying customer of a business. A guest at your dinner is a 客人, not a 顾客.

Don't confuse 顾客 with

客人kèrén

客人 is a guest in a general social sense; 顾客 is a commercial customer. Calling a shopper 客人 sounds off; calling your dinner guest 顾客 sounds transactional.

FAQ

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