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自家 (zì jiā) — (pronoun) oneself (used as subject or object); (possessive) one's own

Definition

Literary/formal pronoun for 'oneself / one's own' — stronger and more written than 自己 (everyday 'self'). Often emphatic, as in 自家种的 ('grown by oneself').

pronoun
oneself (used as subject or object)(possessive) one's own

Examples

  • 自家，。
    Zhè shì zì jiā zhǒng de cài, xīn xiān dé hěn.
    These are vegetables grown by one's own family — very fresh.
  • 自家，。
    zì jiā De shì zì jǐ zuò, bú yào zǒng kào bié rén.
    Do your own work yourself; don't always rely on others.
  • 自家，。
    Tā guài zì jiā bù xiǎo xīn, diū le yào shi.
    He blamed himself for being careless and losing the keys.

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.

自zìself
家jiāhome

自 points to the self and 家 to home or family, expressing one's own home or oneself.

Characters in this word

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

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

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →
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