屋檐 (wū yán) — eaves; home (figurative) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'eaves' — the overhanging edge of a roof, used figuratively for 'under one's roof / home.' Distinct from 家 (just 'home/family') and 故乡 ('hometown' as a place of origin).

noun

eaveshome (figurative)

Examples

屋檐。
wū yán Xià yǒu yì zhī xiǎo niǎo.
There is a small bird under the eaves.
屋檐。
Tā zhù zài wǒ de wū yán xià.
He lives under my roof.
屋檐。
Lǎo fáng zi de wū yán yǐ jīng huài le.
The eaves of the old house are already broken.

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.

屋 (house) and 檐 (edge) give the edge of a house, the eaves.

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

室室shìroom

Sound part声符shēngfú

𡉉

𡉉𡉉屋wū

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屋 comes from 室, meaning room, with 𡉉 for sound; its upper part later changed into an unrelated shape.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Home & Housing

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.