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大家庭 (dà jiā tíng) — extended family; large family (often spanning multiple generations); a group of people who feel like family; community

Definition

A large or extended family, often across multiple generations. Figuratively, it describes any close-knit group (a company, team, community) where people treat each other like family.

noun
extended familylarge family (often spanning multiple generations)a group of people who feel like familycommunity

Examples

  • 大家庭，。
    Wǒ de dà jiā tíng hěn dà, yǒu shí jǐ kǒu rén.
    My extended family is large, with over ten members.
  • 大家庭，。
    Zhè ge gōng sī jiù xiàng yí gè dà jiā tíng, dà jiā hù xiāng bāng zhù.
    This company is like a big family; everyone helps each other.
  • 大家庭。
    Wǒ men shè qū de jū mín jiù xiàng yí gè dà jiā tíng.
    The residents of our community are like a big 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.

大dàbig
家庭family
家jiāhome庭tínghousehold
联合Coordinate

大 gives the idea of large, and 家庭, built from 家 and 庭, gives family or household.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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 →

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
广广guǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
廷
廷tíng庭tíng
Same sound today

庭 combines 广 with 廷. The 廷 part gives the sound, and 广 is the meaning part.

Open 庭 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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