得意先

• Reading: とくいさき
• Romaji: tokuisaki
• Kanji breakdown: 得 (toku) — gain, obtain; 意 (i) — intention, will; 先 (saki) — destination, ahead
• Pronunciation: /to.kɯ.i.sa.ki/

Meaning

A regular customer or client; an established patron with an ongoing business relationship.

A noun referring to customers or clients with whom a business has a continuing relationship. Distinguished from 顧客 (customer, more formal) and お客さん (customer, general). 得意先 specifically implies a valued, repeat business relationship. Common in sales and business contexts. 得意先回り means 'visiting clients' (making sales rounds). The word 得意 alone can also mean 'one's strong point' — here it carries the older meaning of a favoured patron.

Examples

1. 今日は得意先を三件回る予定だ。 I'm scheduled to visit three clients today.
2. 得意先からの注文が急に増えて生産が追いつかない。 Orders from our regular clients have suddenly increased and production can't keep up.
3. 新しい得意先を開拓するために営業チームを強化した。 We strengthened the sales team to develop new clients.

Usage Guide

Context: business, sales, commerce, retail

Tone: professional

Origin & History

From 得意 (tokui, originally 'a favoured patron' from the sense of someone who gives favourable custom) + 先 (saki, destination/party). In modern usage, 得意 commonly means 'strong point,' but in 得意先 it preserves the older commercial meaning.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: Adults

Social background: Professional