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娘家 (niáng jiā) — married woman's parents' home

Definition

娘家 is a married woman's natal family home — her parents' and relatives' house, not the home she shares with her husband (婆家). The '娘' foregrounds the mother-line, so it implies bonds on her side of the family.

noun
married woman's parents' home
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 娘家。
    Tā měi gè zhōu mò dōu huí niáng jiā kàn wàng fù mǔ.
    She goes back to her parents' home every weekend to visit her parents.
  • 娘家。
    niáng jiā De qīn qi dōu hěn rè qíng.
    The relatives from her parents' home are all very warm.
  • 娘家。
    Tā zài niáng jiā zhù le sān tiān.
    She stayed at her parents' home for three days.

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.

娘niángmother
家jiāhome

娘 (mother) describes 家 (home), the home of a woman's parents.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng娘niáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

娘 is built from 女 (woman) and 良, which supplies the sound.

Open 娘 →

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 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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