Meanings & readings
Meanings & dictionary uses
2 senses · 4 wordsAsk or request politely
Invite or treat guests
Languages & readings
Choose a recorded reading. Explore other varieties through their reference sources below.
Mandarin
Sense-linked readingsReadings & meanings
Usage scope
Regional and word-specific qualifications remain attached to the sense and vocabulary records.
Cantonese
Selected character readingSource & reading limitations
Jyutping · Unihan 17.0.0
This property supplies a customary character reading for collation and transliteration. It does not list every reading or identify the reading for each word and sense. It also does not encode a separate regional label for each value.
Other Chinese languages & varieties
Reference guides · character readings not yet imported.
Taiwanese Hokkien 臺灣台語Reference sources only
The Ministry of Education dictionary is the reference for Taiwanese vocabulary and readings. Its Tâi-lô guide distinguishes citation tones from changes in connected speech. Other Hokkien varieties require their own sources.
- Reference variety
- Taiwanese Hokkien, with the regional distinctions recorded by Taiwan's Ministry of Education
- Notation
- Tâi-lô (臺羅), as used by the linked MOE dictionary
Hakka 客語Reference sources only
Taiwan's Ministry of Education documents six Hakka varieties separately. Choose the variety before comparing readings; a single undifferentiated Hakka pronunciation would hide meaningful differences.
- Reference variety
- Taiwan: Sixian, Hailu, Dapu, Raoping, Zhao'an and Southern Sixian
- Notation
- Taiwan Hakka Romanization System (臺灣客語拼音方案)
Teochew 潮州話／潮汕話Reference sources only
Explore CUHK's published Chaozhou lexicon and its separate Shantou sound table. These reference locations remain explicit: readings from one locality should not stand in for every Teochew variety.
- Reference variety
- Chaozhou lexicon; separate Shantou syllable-table resource
- Notation
- Source phonetic transcription; no shared local romanization imported
Wu 吳語・上海話Reference sources only
The linked university resource documents Shanghai. Wu also includes other local varieties; Shanghai readings should retain that location label when compared with Mandarin or Cantonese.
- Reference variety
- Shanghai
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Eastern Min 閩東語・福州話Reference sources only
Fuzhou is an Eastern Min reference variety. Its dedicated CUHK sound table offers a starting point; other Eastern Min localities need distinct records and source attribution.
- Reference variety
- Fuzhou
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Gan 贛語・南昌話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Nanchang sound table. The broader Gan group contains local differences, so future readings should identify Nanchang or another documented locality explicitly.
- Reference variety
- Nanchang
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Xiang 湘語・長沙話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Changsha sound table. Keep Changsha separate from other Xiang localities when adding readings; the group name does not denote one uniform pronunciation.
- Reference variety
- Changsha
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Form & structure
Structure & components
2 direct parts- Layout
- left right
- Index radical
- 讠 · 149 · 8 residual strokes
The direct visible components are 讠 and 青. Here 讠 corresponds to the left-side 言 of traditional 請. It is a component shape; this page does not assign 讠 an independent spoken-word reading.
Follow the recorded parts
- recorded boundary
- recorded boundary
- recorded boundary
A boundary means no finer analysis is published here; it does not assert an indivisible unit. Radical classification and component structure are separate.
Inspect the component network ↗Writing
10 strokesModern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. [47]
Words & connections
Examples
2 sentences請先看這一頁。
请先看这一页。
Please look at this page first.
她邀請我們一起喝茶。
她邀请我们一起喝茶。
She invites us to have tea together.
Original editorial sentences. Pinyin uses dictionary tones; connected speech may differ.
Connections
0 phonetic neighboursThis pilot does not link this character to a sound (phonetic) family. Explore the other recorded relationships below.
History & distinctions
Etymology & evidence
1 accountsA linked historical dossier
CUHK’s entry for 请 explicitly points to 請. Earlier forms and the historical speech-and-sound analysis belong in that linked dossier. The simplified route preserves the modern orthography and usage without duplicating the whole historical discussion.
Reading this character · explanatory note
请 is the simplified form used in polite requests and invitations. You will meet it immediately in 请问, “excuse me, may I ask…?”, and in invitations such as 请坐, “please sit down.” It also has fuller verb uses: 请求 is a request, 邀请 means to invite, and 请客 means to treat guests. The right-hand 青 remains the same as in traditional 請, while 言 becomes 讠 on the left. For earlier writing and historical interpretation, follow the linked 請 dossier. The modern abbreviated shape is not a diagram of its ancient origin.
Historical specimens remain at their sources. No dated attestation sequence or licensed specimen image is claimed.
Inspect CUHK’s forms and discussion ↗Forms & distinctions
Use 请 in simplified text and 請 in traditional text for the words shown. Converting the whole word may affect other characters too. For example, the unchanged 青 component does not tell us whether other characters elsewhere in a sentence require conversion.
讠 has a dot and a turning lower stroke. 忄 in 情 is taller and visually different. 请 is ordinarily qǐng; 情 is qíng.
清 uses three water strokes on the left and usually has the first tone qīng. 请 introduces a request or invitation, not a description of clarity.
Sources & reference
Sources & research
4 sourcesLocator & rights
Character entry; 形義通解, 繁簡對應, and cited Shuowen discussion where present · link_only · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
Release 2026-10-12T08:13:53Z. Exact word-reading locators are retained with each WordRecord. · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
17.0.0 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
bddc96d41bef78427ed0e034e9f7e31d71fd1b92 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Open research · 1 items
- No independent specialist review has been performed. Historical specimen images are linked at source; no image-reuse permission has been obtained.
Cited claims compared with the consulted entries; no independent expert review recorded.
Readings across dictionaries
- Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
- qǐng 0936.010
- Tongyong Guifan · 2013
- qǐng 304.110
- Reading counts · XDHYPLCD
- qǐng(585)