宅门 (zhái mén) — gate of a mansion; (by extension) a wealthy or influential family; a great house

Definition

Literally the gate of a traditional Chinese mansion, used as a metonym for the wealthy or powerful family living behind it (especially in old Beijing). A culturally loaded, literary term — say 豪宅 for a modern rich family's house instead.

noun
gate of a mansion(by extension) a wealthy or influential familya great house
Measure word · 道

Examples

  • 宅门。
    Zhè zuò zhái mén hěn qì pài.
    This mansion gate is very imposing.
  • 宅门。
    Tā men jiā shì dāng dì yǒu míng de zhái mén.
    Their family is a well-known great house in the area.
  • 宅门。
    Lǎo běi jīng de zhái mén wén huà hěn yǒu tè sè.
    The culture of old Beijing great houses is very distinctive.

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.

宅zháimansion
门méngate

宅 (mansion) joins with 门 (gate) to mean the gate of a mansion.

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
乇
乇tuō宅zhái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 宅, the 宀 part is a roof, and the 乇 part gives the sound.

Open 宅 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →

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