王 侯 公 卿

wáng hóu gōng qīngdictionary entry

aristocracy

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-1bc88ac66cda0504. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

王侯公卿王侯公卿 [wang2 hou2 gong1 qing1] /aristocracy/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

王
wáng
king or monarch / best or strongest of its type / grand / great
wàng
(literary) (of a monarch) to reign over (a kingdom)
Wáng
surname Wang
侯
hóu
marquis, second of the five orders of ancient Chinese nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / nobleman; high official
hòu
used in 閩侯|闽侯[Mǐn hòu] (the name of a place in Fujian)
Hóu
surname Hou
公
gōng
public / collectively owned / common / international (e.g. high seas, metric system, calendar) / make public / fair / just / Duke, highest of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / honorable (gentlemen) / father-in-law / male (animal)
卿
qīng
high ranking official (old) / term of endearment between spouses (old) / (from the Tang Dynasty onwards) term used by the emperor for his subjects (old) / honorific (old)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.