客气
kèqì · HSK 5
be polite
🙇 客 = guest + 气 = air/manner; 'guest-manner' = polite formality
客 means guest; 气 means air, manner, or attitude. Together: the courteous manner one shows to a guest. Often said as 不客气 (don't stand on ceremony) = 'you're welcome' after thanks.
气 — steam/vapor radical 气
Originally a pictograph of rising vapor or clouds drifting in the sky, depicting curling streams of air. The character came to mean breath, air, and by extension vital energy or 'qi.' The simplified form 气 keeps the original outline; the traditional 氣 added 米 (rice) to suggest steam rising from cooking grain.