空房 (kòng fáng) — vacant room; deserted or haunted house | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

空房 (kōngfáng) literally means 'empty room' — it can mean a vacant room in a building (like a hotel or apartment) or a deserted/haunted house. Both senses share the idea of a room or house with nobody living in it.

noun

vacant roomdeserted or haunted house

Measure word · 间

Examples

空房。
Zhè dòng lóu lǐ yǒu sān jiān kòng fáng.
There are three vacant rooms in this building.
空房。
Nà dòng kòng fáng yǐ jīng hěn jiǔ méi yǒu rén zhù le.
That deserted house hasn't been lived in for a long time.
空房。
Nà jiān kòng fáng méi yǒu rén gǎn zhù.
Nobody dares to live in that haunted house.

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.

空 means vacant and 房 means room, so 空房 names an empty room.

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.

穴工空

Meaning part形符xíngfú

穴穴xuécave, hole

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng空kōng

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

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

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.

Appears in

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