恋家 (liàn jiā) — to be homesick; to be attached to one's home

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning to feel attached to home and reluctant to leave. Note that 恋 separates here as in 恋家, taking 了 and aspect markers like a typical 离合词.

verb
to be homesickto be attached to one's home

Examples

  • ，恋家。
    Tā yí gè rén zài wài dì, hěn liàn jiā.
    She's alone in another city and feels very homesick.
  • ，。
    Tā liàn le yí bèi zi jiā, cóng bù kěn lí jiā tài yuǎn.
    He has been attached to his home his whole life and never wants to leave it too far.
  • 恋家，。
    Bié tài liàn jiā le, chū qù chuǎng yi chuǎng yě yǒu hǎo chù.
    Don't be too attached to home; it's also good to get out and explore.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

恋liànlove or attachment
家jiāhome

恋家 combines 恋 (love or attachment) with 家 (home), expressing being homesick or attached to 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 戀; 恋 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
䜌
䜌䜌戀liàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 戀 pairs 心 (heart) with 䜌 as a sound part; 恋 is a later simplified form.

Open 恋 →

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 →

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