嘉賓

"guest"

Idiomatic, with 嘉 (jiā, “good, admirable, distinguished”) as honorific.

"sparrow"

Rare outside sparse attestations in some historical 類書／类书 (lèishū, “reference books”) and poetic works, chiefly used for humour in the latter.

嘉賓

1. (honorific) guest; guest of honour

   • 我有嘉賓，中心喜之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     我有嘉宾，中心喜之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Wǒyǒu jiābīn, zhōngxīn xǐzhī.

     I have here an admirable guest,
     And with all my heart I rejoice in him.

2. (figurative, humorous, now rare) sparrow

   • 崔豹《古今注》曰：雀，一名嘉賓。言棲宿人家，狀如賓客也。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     崔豹《古今注》曰：雀，一名嘉宾。言栖宿人家，状如宾客也。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: Taiping Yulan (Readings of the Taiping Era), 977 – 983 CE

     Cuī Bào “Gǔjīnzhù” yuē: què, yī míng jiābīn. Yán qīsù rén jiā, zhuàng rú bīnkè yě.

     Quoting from the Gujinzhu by Cui Bao (c. late 3rd–early 4th century): "the sparrow is alternatively called 'guest of honour' because it lives with humans and feeds off them, like a guest."

   • 大廈初成日，嘉賓集杏梁。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     大厦初成日，嘉宾集杏梁。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. 8th century, Li Jiao (李嶠), Sparrows (《雀》).

     Dàshà chū chéng rì, jiābīn jí xìng liáng.

     The marvellous mansion is now complete,
     and auspicious guests perch upon its beam.

• (guest):