宅院 (zhái yuàn) — house with a courtyard; courtyard house

Definition

noun

house with a courtyardcourtyard house

Measure word · 座

宅院。
Zhè zuò zhái yuàn yǐ jīng yǒu sān bǎi nián de lì shǐ le.
This courtyard house already has a history of three hundred years.
。
Tā men yì jiā zhù zài chéng dōng de lǎo zhái yuàn lǐ.
Their family lives in an old courtyard house in the east of the city.
宅院。
Wǒ men cān guān le nà ge bǎo cún wán hǎo de zhái yuàn.
We visited that well-preserved courtyard house.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

院yuàncourtyard

宅 (dwelling) and 院 (courtyard) combine to mean a house with a courtyard.

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.

宀乇宅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

乇

乇tuō宅zhái

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 宅, the 宀 part is a roof, and the 乇 part gives the sound.

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

阝完院

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阝Written in full as阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

完

完wán院yuàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

院 is built from 阝, written in full as 阜, and 完, which gives the sound.