健身房 (jiàn shēn fáng) — gym, fitness center | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

健身房 is a commercial gym or fitness center, usually a business you pay to join. 体育馆 is a public sports venue (gymnasium, arena) for team sports and competitions.

noun

gymfitness center

Measure word · 家

Examples

健身房。
Wǒ mǎi le yì zhāng jiàn shēn fáng de huì yuán kǎ.
I bought a membership card for the gym.
健身房。
Tā měi tiān zài jiàn shēn fáng pǎo bù yí gè xiǎo shí.
He runs at the gym for an hour every day.
健身房。
Zhè jiā jiàn shēn fáng páng biān yǒu yí gè kā fēi tīng.
There is a cafe next to this gym.

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.

健身fitness

健jiànstrengthen身shēnbody

动宾Verb + object

健身 'fitness' combined with 房 'room' names a place for exercise.

Characters in this word

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

亻建健

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

建

建jiàn健jiàn

Same sound today

The left part 亻 depicts a person, and the right part 建 gives the sound.

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

The shape of 身 comes from a drawing of a pregnant woman.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Fitness & Exercise Rooms & Spaces

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