房舍 (fáng shě) — house, building (often in a collective or formal sense)

Definition

Literary/written word for 'houses, buildings', usually referring to a group of dwellings rather than a single one. More formal than 房子, and 房屋 is the common written equivalent.

noun
housebuilding (often in a collective or formal sense)
Measure word · 间

Examples

  • 房舍。
    Zhè piàn fáng shě yǐ jīng yǒu yì bǎi duō nián de lì shǐ le.
    These buildings have a history of over a hundred years.
  • 房舍。
    Cūn lǐ xīn jiàn le xǔ duō fáng shě.
    Many new houses have been built in the village.
  • 房舍，。
    Zhè xiē fáng shě suī rán jiù, dàn hěn jiē shi.
    These houses, though old, are very sturdy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

房fánghouse
舍shèdwelling

房 and 舍 both refer to dwellings, so together they mean a 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.

Open 房 →

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú舍shè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

舍 is 余 plus 口. 余 was the original picture for this word, and 口 was later added to distinguish it.

Open 舍 →

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