新房 (xīn fáng) — new house; bridal chamber (for a newlywed coupl…

Definition

新房 has two distinct senses: a literal 'new house' (a recently built or purchased home), and the wedding-night 'bridal chamber' set up for newlyweds. Context usually makes clear which is meant.

noun

new housebridal chamber (for a newlywed couple)

Measure word · 套

Examples

新房。
Tā men mǎi le yí tào xīn fáng.
They bought a new house.
，新房。
Jié hūn nà tiān, tā men zhù jìn le xīn fáng.
On the wedding day, they moved into the bridal chamber.
新房，。
xīn fáng De chuāng hu hěn dà, yáng guāng hěn hǎo.
The windows of the new house are large, and the sunlight is good.

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.

新xīnnew

房fángroom/house

新 means 'new' and 房 means 'room/house', so it denotes a new room or bridal chamber.

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.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

斤斤jīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

辛

辛xīn新xīn

Same sound today

The shape originally paired 斤, for chopping wood, with 辛 for sound. It was borrowed for its sound to write 新, so the chopping-wood parts are unrelated to 'new'.

Open 新 →

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 →

Appears in

Home & Housing Romance & Marriage