Grammar · Chapter 1
敬请, 莅临: politeness for notices and invitations
敬请 (you/everyone) + verb (= a very polite 请) · welcome + guest + 莅临 (= an honoured 来)
敬请 is a very polite 'please' in notices and invitations: 敬请大家保持安静. 莅临 honours the person who comes, so it is said about guests, never about yourself: 欢迎各位来宾莅临本店. Typical mistake: 我今天莅临… — it only ever works for other people; about yourself say 来.
Examples
- 欢迎各位来宾莅临本店，我们准备了小礼物。 Huānyíng gèwèi láibīn lìlín běn diàn, wǒmen zhǔnbèi le xiǎo lǐwù. Welcome, dear guests, to our shop: we have prepared small gifts.
- 感谢大家今天莅临我们的新书发布会。 Gǎnxiè dàjiā jīntiān lìlín wǒmen de xīnshū fābùhuì. Thank you all for coming to our book launch today.
- 敬请大家保持安静，演出马上开始。 Jìngqǐng dàjiā bǎochí ānjìng, yǎnchū mǎshàng kāishǐ. Please keep quiet, everyone: the show starts right away.