稀客 (xīkè): rare visitor

Meanings

Yo, zhēn shì xīkè! Nǐ zěnme yǒu kōng lái a?

Oh, what a rare visit! How did you find time to come?

Tā shì zhèlǐ de xīkè, hěn shǎo lòumiàn.

He's a rare visitor here and seldom shows up.

usage

稀客 is often used as an exclamation when someone rarely seen drops by: '哟，稀客稀客！' is a warm, slightly teasing greeting.

memory

稀 means 'rare/sparse' (like 稀饭, thin porridge), so 稀客 = a 'sparse' guest — someone who doesn't visit often.

稀 xī

客 kè