房客 (fáng kè) — tenant (of a room or house) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

tenant (of a room or house)

Measure word · 个

Examples

房客。
Zhè ge fáng kè měi yuè àn shí jiāo fáng zū.
This tenant pays rent on time every month.
房客。
Fáng dōng hé fáng kè de guān xì hěn hǎo.
The landlord and tenant have a good relationship.
房客。
Wǒ men jiā de fáng kè shì yí wèi lǎo shī.
The tenant in our house is a teacher.

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.

“房” means room and “客” means guest, together denoting a guest occupying a room.

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

戶戶hùdoor

Sound part声符shēngfú

方

方fāng房fáng

Same sound today

房 pairs 戶 (door) with 方 (fāng) as a sound part; 方 can also fit 'side,' as in a side room beside the main room.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

宀各客

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

各

各gè客kè

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

In 客, 宀 is a roof and 各 gives the sound; the character meant a guest.

Appears in

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