主人家 (zhǔ rén jiā) — host family

Definition

Refers to the family that hosts a guest, homestay, or exchange student — 'host family' in everyday use. Distinguish from 主人 (the host/owner, no family implied).

noun
host family

Examples

  • 主人家。
    Wǒ zài guó wài liú xué shí zhù zài zhǔ rén jiā lǐ.
    When I studied abroad, I lived with a host family.
  • 主人家。
    Zhè jiā de zhǔ rén jiā duì wǒ men fēi cháng rè qíng.
    This host family is very warm towards us.
  • 主人家。
    Zhǎo dào hé shì de zhǔ rén jiā bù róng yì.
    Finding a suitable host family is not easy.

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.

主人host
主zhǔmaster人rénperson
偏正Modifier + head
家jiāfamily

“主人” (host) and “家” (family) combine to mean the household that hosts guests.

Characters in this word

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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 →

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 →

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