HSK 6 · Society

礼尚往来 lǐshàngwǎnglái “courtesy calls for reciprocity” in Chinese

Traditional 禮尚往來

What 礼尚往来 means

  1. courtesy calls for reciprocity
  2. lit. proper behaviour is based on reciprocity (idiom)
  3. fig. to return politeness for politeness

How to say 礼尚往来

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale礼lǐ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale尚shàng4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale往wǎng3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale来lái2nd tone, rising

礼尚往来 in a sentence

  1. 她送我礼物，我也要回礼，礼尚往来嘛。

    Tā sòng wǒ lǐwù, wǒ yě yào huílǐ, lǐshàngwǎnglái ma.

    She gave me a present, so I’ll give her one back. One good turn deserves another.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 中国人讲究礼尚往来。

    Zhōngguórén jiǎngjiu lǐshàngwǎnglái.

    Chinese people value returning a kindness.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 礼尚往来 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 礼 (lǐ) with each of its parts in a different colour
礼lǐgift
  • 礻sign form of 示 · shìMeaning part
  • 乚second (cyclical) form of 乙 · yǐSound part

礻 hints at the meaning (sign); 乚 (yǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with lǐ.

The character 尚 (shàng) with each of its parts in a different colour
尚shàngstill
  • ⺌small form of 小 · xiǎo
  • 冂down box · jiōng
  • 口mouth · kǒu
The character 往 (wǎng) drawn as one shape
往wǎngto go

往 is a single shape of 8 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

The character 来 (lái) with each of its parts in a different colour
来láito come
  • 未part of the character
  • 丷eight form of 八 · bā

Memory aidDrawn from a stalk of wheat. It was borrowed early on for “to come”.

How to write 礼尚往来

礼 5 strokes · 尚 8 strokes · 往 8 strokes · 来 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

礼尚往来 (lǐshàngwǎnglái) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 礼尚往来 (lǐshàngwǎnglái). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 礼尚往来

Words with 礼

礼物lǐwù · gift礼貌lǐmào · courtesy礼拜天Lǐbàitiān · Sunday婚礼hūnlǐ · wedding ceremony敬礼jìnglǐ · to salute典礼diǎnlǐ · ceremony礼节lǐjié · etiquette

Words with 尚

时尚shíshàng · fashion高尚gāoshàng · noble尚且shàngqiě · even

Words with 往

往wǎng · to go (in a direction)往往wǎngwǎng · usually交往jiāowǎng · to associate with往返wǎngfǎn · to go back and forth往常wǎngcháng · usually (in the past)往事wǎngshì · the past以往yǐwǎng · in the past向往xiàngwǎng · to yearn for一如既往yìrújìwǎng · as always

Words with 来

来lái · to come出来chūlái · to come out过来guòlái · to come over回来huílai · to return进来jìnlái · to come in上来shànglái · to come up下来xiàlai · to come down后来hòulái · afterwards起来qǐlai · beginning or continuing an action带来dàilái · to bring (about)

More words: Society & Law

联盟liánméng · alliance礼节lǐjié · etiquette领事馆lǐngshìguǎn · consulate领袖lǐngxiù · leader流氓liúmáng · hooligan掠夺lüèduó · to plunder埋伏máifu · to lie in ambush面子miànzi · face

FAQs

礼尚往来 (lǐshàngwǎnglái) means “courtesy calls for reciprocity” or “lit. proper behaviour is based on reciprocity (idiom)”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it lǐshàngwǎnglái: lǐ with a 3rd tone, then shàng with a 4th tone, then wǎng with a 3rd tone, then lái with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 礼尚往来 is written 禮尚往來. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type lishangwanglai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 礼尚往来 from the suggestions. Typing lishangwanglai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
礼尚往来 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.