久仰

• Pinyin: jiǔ yǎng
• Hanzi breakdown: 久 = long time (person leaning on support — enduring); 仰 = 亻(person) + 卬 (looking up) — to look upward in admiration

Meaning

I have long admired you; it's an honour to finally meet you.

A formal, ceremonious expression used when meeting someone famous or highly respected for the first time. Essentially means 'I have long looked up to you.' Never used with close friends or peers — only when meeting a figure one genuinely reveres or wants to show deference to. A fixed polite formula in formal introductions.

Examples

1. 久仰大名，今日得见，真是三生有幸。 I have long admired your name — to meet you today is truly a once-in-three-lifetimes honour.
2. 教授，久仰您在量子物理领域的卓越成就，今日得以当面请教，实属荣幸。 Professor, I have long admired your outstanding achievements in quantum physics — it is a genuine honour to be able to consult you in person today.
3. 他握着老院士的手说：久仰久仰，您的论著我读了不下十遍。 He shook the senior academician's hand and said: 'What a long-awaited honour — I've read your works no fewer than ten times.

Usage Guide

Context: formal introduction, ceremony, social etiquette

Tone: respectful and deferential

Do Say

• 先生，久仰您的大名，终于有机会当面请教。(Sir, I have long admired you — it is finally an opportunity to seek your guidance in person.)
• 久仰！您的研究成果对我们影响深远。(What an honour to meet you — your research has had a profound influence on us.)

Don't Say

• 我久仰我的同桌。(久仰 is only for meeting figures one has long revered from a distance — using it with a desk-neighbour is comedic or absurd)

Origin & History

久 (long time) + 仰 (to look up to, to admire). A classical Chinese formula of deference: 'For a long time I have looked up to you.' A set phrase in traditional social etiquette.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages (formal contexts)

Social background: Universal