应酬

• 拼音: yìng chou
• 汉字拆解: 应 = 广 + 应 (respond to what is required); 酬 = 酉 + 州 (wine vessel + phonetic — ritual toast, exchange)

含义

To socialise for business purposes; to entertain clients or associates. As a noun: social obligations, business entertainment, wining and dining.

A culturally loaded term in Chinese professional life. 应酬 refers to the obligatory social engagements — dinners, banquets, drinking — that are central to building and maintaining business relationships (关系). Can carry a slightly negative connotation of being tiresome or performative, but is widely accepted as a necessary part of professional life.

例句

1. 作为省行行长，他每周要参加三四个晚上的客户宴请和政务晚宴，长期应酬让身体明显吃不消。
2. 创始人说，创业早期最耗精力的不是研发，而是频繁应酬，因为饭局背后牵涉复杂的人际维护。
3. 近年商业文化变化后，高档宴请式应酬渐少，商务午餐和视频会议更常见，但传统行业里仍很有影响。

用法指南

语境: business, social, culture, professional life

语气: pragmatic

正确说法

• 这位从总部调到地方任总经理的高管说，初到任最大挑战不是业务，而是拿捏应酬分寸。(This executive, transferred from headquarters to serve as general manager of a local branch, said that the biggest challenge on arrival was not business, but learning how to handle social obligations appropriately.)
• 现代企业越来越把差旅和应酬费纳入合规审查，每笔外部宴请都要说明业务关联并经上级批准。(Modern companies are increasingly putting travel and entertainment expenses under compliance review, requiring each outside dining expense to explain its business relevance and receive approval from a supervisor.)

错误说法

• 我们去应酬一下朋友 — 应酬 specifically refers to professional/business social obligations; for casual socialising with friends say 我们去聚一聚 or 我们约出来吃顿饭

起源与历史

应 (to respond/handle — 广 + 应, respond to what is required) + 酬 (to toast/repay — 酉 wine vessel + 州 phonetic, originally the ritual exchange of toasts at a banquet)

文化背景

时代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会背景: Professional