好人家 (hǎo rén jiā) — a respectable family; a well-to-do family; a respectable woman (from a good family)

Definition

Literary/classical term for 'a respectable (well-to-do) family.' As the examples show, it is often contrasted with 出身 — 好人家出身 means 'born of a respectable family,' emphasizing family status and upbringing rather than the woman's own character.

noun
a respectable familya well-to-do familya respectable woman (from a good family)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 好人家。
    Tā chū shēng zài yí gè shū xiāng mén dì de hǎo rén jiā.
    She was born into a scholarly and respectable family.
  • 好人家，。
    Tā shì hǎo rén jiā chū shēn, cóng xiǎo jiā jiào hěn yán.
    She comes from a respectable family and was raised with strict discipline.
  • ，好人家。
    Zài gǔ dài, nǚ zǐ jià rù hǎo rén jiā shì yì zhǒng fú qi.
    In ancient times, for a woman to marry into a good family was considered good fortune.

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.

好hǎogood
人家household
人rénperson家jiāhome
联合Side by side

好 means good, and 人家 refers to people and home.

Characters in this word

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

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.