名刺

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 初めて会う人に名刺を渡します。▶ —
   I hand my business card to people I meet for the first time.
2. 名刺をもらったら、よく見ましょう。▶ —
   When you receive a business card, look at it carefully.

Collocations

Mnemonic

名刺 meishi — 名 (name) + 刺 (to pierce, a calling tablet). 刺 originally meant "to pierce," but in old China it also meant a slip of bamboo bearing one's name that was presented at a visit — hence "business card." In Japanese business, 名刺交換 (card exchange) is a formal ritual of first meetings.

Quick check

1. How did 刺 come to mean a calling card?

   • from a name-bearing bamboo slip presented in old China
   • from piercing paper with a needle
   • from carving with a knife
   • from a thorny flower