私宅 (sī zhái) — private residence | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

private residence

私宅。
Zhè dòng sī zhái shì tā fù mǔ de.
This private residence belongs to his parents.
私宅。
Tā zhù zài chéng jiāo de sī zhái lǐ.
He lives in a private residence on the outskirts of the city.
私宅。
Zhè zuò sī zhái yǒu hěn piào liang de huā yuán.
This private residence has a very beautiful garden.

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.

私sīprivate

宅zháiresidence

私 means private and 宅 means residence, giving a private home.

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.

禾厶私

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

厶

厶sī私sī

Same sound today

私 combines 禾 and 厶; 厶 originally represented the word, and 禾 was added later.

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

宀乇宅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

乇

乇tuō宅zhái

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

In 宅, the 宀 part is a roof, and the 乇 part gives the sound.