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家里人 (jiā lǐ rén) — family members; one's household

Definition

Refers to members of your own household or close family — can include those living far away. More informal and personal than 家属 (jīashǔ, formal 'family members/dependants') or 亲人 (qīnrén, 'relatives' by blood/marriage).

noun
family membersone's household
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 家里人。
    Wǒ de jiā lǐ rén dōu zài běi jīng gōng zuò.
    All my family members work in Beijing.
  • ，家里人。
    Guò nián shí, jiā lǐ rén huì jù zài yì qǐ chī nián yè fàn.
    During the New Year, family members gather for the New Year's Eve dinner.
  • 家里人。
    Tā hěn xiǎng niàn yuǎn fāng de jiā lǐ rén.
    He misses his family members far away.

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.

家里home/inside
家jiāhome里lǐinside
偏正Modifier + head
人rénperson

家 means home, 里 means inside, and 人 means people; together they mean the people inside one's home.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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