婆家 (pó jia) — husband's family; married woman's in-laws

Definition

The family of one's husband, from the wife's perspective (parents-in-law, etc.). Contrast with 娘家 (wife's own family).

noun

husband's familymarried woman's in-laws

婆家。
Tā jié hūn yǐ hòu yì zhí zhù zài pó jia.
After she got married, she has been living with her husband's family.
婆家，。
Měi cì huí pó jia, tā dōu huì dài lǐ wù gěi gōng pó.
Every time she visits her in-laws, she brings gifts for her husband's parents.
婆家。
Tā gēn pó jia de guān xì chǔ lǐ dé hěn hǎo.
She gets along very well with her husband's family.

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.

婆pómother-in-law

婆 (mother-in-law) + 家 (family) gives husband's family.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

波女婆

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

波

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

婆 pairs 女 (woman) with 波, which gives the sound. The 女 part shows the character is about a woman.

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.