恩客

ēnkè

noun #54,421

Measure Word

一位恩客 wèi

Meanings

1 a prostitute's regular client
2 patron of a courtesan (traditional euphemism)

Characters

kindness / favor

guest / customer

Examples

她有一位常来的恩客，出手阔绰。

Tā yǒu yī wèi cháng lái de ēnkè, chūshǒu kuòchuo.

She had a regular patron who came often and spent freely.

小说里那个名妓终于和她最钟情的恩客私奔了。

Xiǎoshuō lǐ nàge míngjì zhōngyú hé tā zuì zhōngqíng de ēnkè sībēn le.

In the novel, the famous courtesan finally eloped with the patron she had loved most.

Tips

register

A literary euphemism — 恩 'kindness' + 客 'guest', framing the client as a 'benefactor'. Standard in classical fiction and historical drama (think 《杜十娘》 or 《海上花列传》); rarely used in everyday modern speech, where the term is 嫖客 (piáokè) — much more direct and pejorative.

Stroke Order

恩 ēn

客 kè