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养家 (yǎng jiā) — to support a family, to provide for one's family

Definition

A set verb (离合词) meaning 'to support/provide for one's family' — usually the earner's job. Can be split: 养得起家 'can afford to support a family', 养了十年家 'supported a family for ten years'.

verb
to support a familyto provide for one's family

Examples

  • 养家。
    Tā měi tiān dōu hěn xīn kǔ dì yǎng jiā.
    He works hard every day to support his family.
  • ，。
    Tā yǎng bù qǐ jiā, zhǐ hǎo zhǎo fù mǔ bāng máng.
    He can't afford to support his family, so he has to ask his parents for help.
  • 。
    Tā yǐ jīng yǎng le shí nián jiā le.
    He has already supported his family for ten years.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

养yǎngsupport
家jiāfamily

养 means support and 家 means family, so the word describes supporting one's family.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Open 养 →

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 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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