二房 (èr fáng) — (noun) second branch of a family (in traditional clan structure); (noun) concubine (historical)

Definition

Traditional clan term with two senses: the second branch of a family (大房 = first branch), and a historical word for concubine — used only in classical/imperial contexts, not everyday speech.

noun
second branch of a family (in traditional clan structure)concubine (historical)

Examples

  • ，二房。
    Zài gǔ dài, èr fáng de dì wèi bǐ zhèng qī dī hěn duō.
    In ancient times, a concubine's status was much lower than that of the principal wife.
  • 二房。
    Tā men jiā de èr fáng zài qīng cháo chū le hěn duō dú shū rén.
    Their family's second branch produced many scholars in the Qing dynasty.
  • 二房。
    Zhè běn jiā pǔ bǎ dà fáng hé èr fáng fēn de hěn qīng chǔ.
    This genealogy book clearly distinguishes the first branch and the second branch.

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.

二èrsecond
房fángbranch

二 gives second and 房 the family branch, naming the second branch or concubine.

Characters in this word

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

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Open 二 →

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
戶戶hùdoor
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng房fáng
Same sound today

房 pairs 戶 (door) with 方 (fāng) as a sound part; 方 can also fit 'side,' as in a side room beside the main room.

Open 房 →

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