单元房 (dān yuán fáng) — apartment; unit

Definition

noun

apartmentunit

Measure word · 套

单元房。
Wǒ zhù zài yí tào dān yuán fáng lǐ.
I live in an apartment unit.
单元房。
Zhè dòng lóu yǒu shí tào dān yuán fáng.
This building has ten apartment units.
单元房。
Tā men mǎi le xīn dān yuán fáng.
They bought a new apartment.

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.

单元single unit

偏正Modifier + head

“单元” means a single unit and “房” is a room, together they name an apartment unit.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

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

The shape 元 shows a figure with two lines for a head, one connected to the body and one above it, emphasizing the head.

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

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.