王室 (wáng shì) — royal family; royal court | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'king's clan': refers to both the royal FAMILY (members by blood) and the royal COURT (the institution and its household). Distinguish from 皇家, which leans toward the family and ceremonial side.

noun

royal familyroyal court

Examples

王室。
wáng shì Chéng yuán chū xí le jīn tiān de huó dòng.
Members of the royal family attended today's event.
王室。
Zhè zuò chéng bǎo shì gǔ dài wáng shì de zhù suǒ.
This castle was the residence of the ancient royal court.
王室。
Guān yú wáng shì de xīn wén zǒng shì hěn shòu guān zhù.
News about the royal family always attracts a lot of attention.

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.

“王” denotes a king and “室” denotes a house, together meaning the king's house.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 王 comes from a picture of a ritual axe, an object kept near a throne and connected with royal power.

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

宀至室

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

至

至zhì室shì

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

室 puts 宀 (roof) over 至, the spot where someone stops, giving the meaning of a house or residence.

Appears in

Government & Politics

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