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
Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese
Readings recorded for 請 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.
Japanese 日本語
Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.
On’yomi · katakana
Kun’yomi · hiragana
Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.
Go deeperJisho ↗Wiktionary ↗
Korean 한국어
Hanja readings · Hangul
Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.
Go deeperNaver Hanja ↗Wiktionary ↗
Reading sources explained
- 청
- KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E) · Personal-name Hanja (N)
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt
Character readings · Quốc ngữ
Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.
Go deeperHán Việt (Thi Viện) ↗Wiktionary ↗
Form & structure
Structure & components
2 direct parts- Layout
- left right
- Index radical
- 言 · 149 · 8 residual strokes
言 is the left component, associated with speech; 青 is on the right. In the historical analysis cited by CUHK, 青 contributes sound. The modern tone of 請 differs from the common qīng reading of 青.
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
15 strokesModern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. [47]
Words & connections
Examples
2 sentences請問，車站在哪裡？
请问，车站在哪里？
Excuse me, where is the station?
今天我請客。
今天我请客。
Today it is my treat.
Original editorial sentences. Pinyin uses dictionary tones; connected speech may differ.
Connections
1 phonetic neighboursRelated by a documented phonetic role; modern readings can differ.
History & distinctions
Etymology & evidence
2 accountsSpeech and a phonetic component
CUHK describes a bronze form containing 言, 青, and an additional 口-shaped element it interprets as decorative. It identifies 青 as phonetic and discusses an early audience or formal-visit sense. This is a specific scholarly account, not a translation assembled from the modern shapes.
Borrowed readings in early texts
CUHK also cites cases in which 請 writes other similar-sounding words. Those readings belong to their particular passages. They do not change the ordinary qǐng of a modern invitation.
Reading this character · explanatory note
請 is both a polite way to introduce an action and a verb used in requests or invitations. 請坐 means “please sit down”; 邀請 / 邀请 means “invite”; 請客 / 请客 usually means treating or entertaining guests. The traditional form has 言 on the left and 青 on the right. CUHK identifies 青 as a phonetic component, so this is a historical sound connection rather than a claim that a request is “blue speech.” The ordinary modern reading is qǐng. Older literary readings and uses need their own context and are not substituted into everyday requests.
Historical specimens remain at their sources. No dated attestation sequence or licensed specimen image is claimed.
Inspect CUHK’s forms and discussion ↗Forms & distinctions
請 corresponds to simplified 请. The visible change is 言 → 讠; 青 remains. This is a regular form relationship in the modern words shown here. The historical dossier is shared; 请 does not require a separate invented ancient origin.
The left side is 言 in 請 and 氵 in 清. Their common readings are qǐng and qīng respectively.
情 uses 忄 and is qíng. It is the word context, not merely the shared 青, that identifies a request.
Historical readings
- Middle Chinese
- dzjeng · 疾盈 反切 · #909
- Middle Chinese
- tshjengX · 七靜 反切 · #1894
- Middle Chinese
- dzjengH · 疾政 反切 · #2985
Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.
Source row & reading categories
CSV line 7235 · dzjeng = 梗開三平清從 · tshjengX = 梗開三上清清 · dzjengH = 梗開三去清從
Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗
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.
Old Chinese · reconstruction
- qíng
- *m-tsʰeŋ
MC dzjeng · GSR 0812k' - qǐng
- *[tsʰ]eŋʔ
MC tshjengX · GSR 0812k'
Baxter & Sagart 2014 · p.109. Model-specific reconstructions; * and uncertainty brackets are preserved.
Readings across dictionaries
- Hanyu Da Zidian
- qǐng,qìng,qíng 63981.030
- Reading counts · XDHYPLCD
- qǐng(585)
- Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
- qǐng粵cing2
Reference desk
- Fanqie spellings
- 疾盈 七靜 疾政
- Kangxi positions
- 1167.180
- Guangyun positions
- 190.13 319.03 431.27
- GSR references
- 0812k'
- Cangjie
- YRQMB
- Four-corner
- 0562.7