Word information
Simplified礼尚往来
Traditional禮尚往來
Pinyinlǐshàngwǎnglái
Part of speechGeneral
HSK 3.07-9
HSK 2.0Not listed
Chinese word dictionary
礼尚往来
lǐshàngwǎnglái · lit. proper behavior is based on reciprocity (idiom); fig. to return politeness for politeness
Character breakdown
Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.
How to learn 礼尚往来
Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.
When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.
Related vocabulary
Words with the same characters
Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.
来lái
to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3 yi3 lai2]); for the past (amount of time); (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 來世|来世[lai2 shi4]); (between two verbs) in order to; (after a round number) approximately; (used after 得[de2] to indicate possibility, as in 談得來|谈得来[tan2 de5 lai2], or after 不[bu4] to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來|吃不来[chi1 bu5 lai2])
出来chūláito come out; to appear; to arise
过来guòláito come over; to manage; to handle; to be able to take care of
回来huíláito return; to come back
进来jìnláito come in
起来qǐláito stand up; to get up; also pr. [qi3lai2]