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家室 (jiā shì) — family dependents, especially one's wife and children

Definition

Literary/formal word for one's family dependents — typically one's spouse and children — used in writing or official contexts like résumés. In everyday speech, 家人 is the neutral default.

noun
family dependents, especially one's wife and children

Examples

  • 家室，。
    Tā wèi le jiā shì, nǔ lì gōng zuò.
    He works hard for his family.
  • 家室。
    Tā de jiā shì dōu zài nóng cūn.
    His family is all in the countryside.
  • 家室。
    Tā guān xīn jiā shì de xìng fú.
    He cares about his family's happiness.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

家jiāfamily
室shìwife

家 and 室 both point to family or wife, so 家室 means one's dependents.

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
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 →

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
至
至zhì室shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

室 puts 宀 (roof) over 至, the spot where someone stops, giving the meaning of a house or residence.

Open 室 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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