盖房 (gài fáng) — to build a house | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

盖房 (gài fáng) is a verb-object phrase meaning 'to build a house' — a separable verb: you can say 盖房子, 盖了一栋房子, or 盖了两年房.

verb

to build a house

盖房。
Cūn lǐ hěn duō rén dōu zài gài fáng.
Many people in the village are building houses.
。
Tā gài le sān jiān xīn fáng.
He built three new rooms (of a house).
。
Zhè jiā rén gài le liǎng nián de fáng zi cái bān jìn qù.
This family built their house for two years before moving in.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

盖 expresses building and 房 is a house, giving the sense of building a house.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蓋; 盖 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

盍

盍hé蓋gài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 蓋 pairs 艸, grass, with 盍 for sound. It was a thatch, and it took on cover meanings after 盍 was borrowed for “why not”.

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

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.