拜访

• Pinyin: bài fǎng
• Hanzi breakdown: 拜 = 手 (hand) doubled, showing gesture of respect; 访 = 讠(speech) + 方 (direction, phonetic)

Meaning

Visit; call on. To pay a formal or respectful visit to someone, typically for social or professional purposes.

More formal than 看望 or 访问. Used especially when visiting elders, teachers, business contacts, or officials. Implies showing respect to the person being visited.

Examples

1. 春节期间，我们全家一起去拜访外公外婆。 During Spring Festival, our whole family went together to visit our maternal grandparents.
2. 新经理上任后，第一件事就是拜访各部门的负责人。 After the new manager took office, the first thing he did was visit the heads of each department.
3. 他特意从北京飞过来拜访他的恩师。 He specially flew from Beijing to visit his mentor.

Usage Guide

Context: social, business, family

Tone: respectful

Do Say

• 请问您什么时候方便我去拜访？(When would be convenient for me to pay you a visit?)
• 我们下周去拜访一下老客户。(Let's visit our longtime clients next week.)

Don't Say

• 对朋友说'我去拜访你'——朋友之间太正式了，说'我去找你'或'我去看你' (Don't say '拜访' to close friends — it's too formal; use 找 or 看 instead)

Origin & History

Compound of 拜 (to pay respects) + 访 (to visit), combining two characters that both imply formal or respectful interaction.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal