房屋 (fáng wū) — house; building | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal written term for 'house / building,' typical of contracts, real estate, and news. 房子 is the everyday spoken word; 建筑物 stresses the structure itself, not its residential use.

noun

housebuilding

Measure word · 所, 套

Examples

房屋。
Zhè fáng wū de zū jīn tài guì le.
The rent for this house is too expensive.
。
Tā men xiǎng mǎi yí tào xīn fáng wū.
They want to buy a new house.
房屋？
Zhè suǒ fáng wū de miàn jī shì duō shǎo?
What is the floor area of this house?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

房 and 屋 both mean house or building.

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.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Buildings & Structures Home & Housing

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