里屋 (lǐ wū) — inner room (of a two-part room or suite) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

inner room (of a two-part room or suite)

Examples

里屋，。
Tā zài lǐ wū xiū xi, bié qù dǎ rǎo tā.
He's resting in the inner room; don't disturb him.
里屋，。
Nǎi nai zhù zài lǐ wū, cǎi guāng hěn hǎo.
Grandma lives in the inner room, which has great natural light.
，里屋。
Zhè jiān tào fáng fēn lǐ wài liǎng jiān, lǐ wū dāng wò shì.
This suite is divided into an outer and an inner room; the inner room serves as the bedroom.

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.

里 means inner and 屋 means room, so it names the inner room of a suite.

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

衤里裡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

衤Written in full as衣yīclothes

Sound part声符shēngfú

里

里lǐ裡lǐ

Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

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

室室shìroom

Sound part声符shēngfú

𡉉

𡉉𡉉屋wū

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

屋 comes from 室, meaning room, with 𡉉 for sound; its upper part later changed into an unrelated shape.

Appears in

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