上房 (shàng fáng) — main rooms (in a traditional courtyard house); (historical) wife (as opposed to concubines)

Definition

Two distinct senses, both archaic/literary: (1) the main rooms of a traditional siheyuan courtyard house, where the head of the household lived; (2) historically, the principal wife (正妻), as opposed to concubines.

noun
main rooms (in a traditional courtyard house)(historical) wife (as opposed to concubines)

Examples

  • 上房。
    Zhè dòng sì hé yuàn de shàng fáng shì zhǔ rén zhù de dì fāng.
    The main rooms of this courtyard house are where the owner lives.
  • ，上房。
    Zài gǔ dài, shàng fáng tōng cháng liú gěi zhǎng bèi jū zhù.
    In ancient times, the main rooms were usually reserved for elders.
  • ，上房。
    Xiǎo shuō lǐ tí dào, zhè wèi shàng fáng chū shēn míng mén.
    The novel mentions that this wife came from a distinguished family.

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.

上shàngupper/main
房fángroom

上 (upper/main) and 房 (room) refer to the main room, hence the master's quarters.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

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.

Open 房 →

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