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一家人 (yī jiā rén) — the whole family; all members of a family (as a group)

Definition

Refers to all members of one household or family group acting together — 'the whole family' (我们一家人 = 'our whole family'), not the family unit as a single noun like 家庭.

noun
the whole familyall members of a family (as a group)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 一家人。
    Wǒ men yī jiā rén dōu xǐ huan qù gōng yuán sàn bù.
    Our whole family likes going to the park for a walk.
  • 一家人。
    yī jiā rén Zài yì qǐ chī fàn shì zuì xìng fú de shì.
    Eating together as a family is the happiest thing.
  • 一家人，。
    Tā men bú shì yī jiā rén, zhǐ shì hé zū de péng you.
    They are not a family; they are just friends sharing a rental.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

一家one family
一yīone家jiāfamily
偏正Modifier + head
人rénpeople

一 means one, 家 family, 人 people; together they mean people of one family.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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