I swear this is gonna be the last thing I burn. Is there a different definition besides noble visitor that’s easier to remember and still correct? I always want to say “special guest” or “vip”.
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The 貴 part doesn’t refer to how much you value their presence. It refers to someone who has a high social status. So VIP or special guest obviously includes people like that, but it also includes people who are not of particularly high social status but are, for whatever reason, highly valued by the person who invited them. What you choose to do with that information is your call.
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Honored guest, perhaps. One of the J-E dictionaries I have lists 貴賓席 as “seats (reserved) for honored guests; a royal box”
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For once a very straightforward dictionary entry!
身分の高い客
@andrewkfiedler If you ever read anything with nobility you’ll probably see 貴族 and 身分 come up quite often. I’ve yet to see 貴賓 though.
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It’s used fairly often in the VN Umineko, but always in compound:
貴賓室 : translated as VIP room. In the game it’s an entire room devoted to one very important guest, who has a very high social status.
貴賓席 : translated as noble’s seat. Context is an opera-like setting with some seats on the balcony reserved for nobility
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There’s a similar vocab that I usually confuse it with… .賓客 (WaniKani / Vocabulary / 賓客)
Maybe just having this thread will help me to jam it into my brain 
I appreciate all the ideas.
I’m saving this info for later. Makes sense that the word can be used for both depending on context. Historically, opera boxes, especially the royal box, are for high nobility, but stretching the concept to today - you just get a VIP room at a club or something (with no connection to nobility).
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I would synonym that SO fast
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Oh goodness. It looks like an alien.
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Oh man, I totally forgot the second kanji by now…
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