室 (shì) — room (often as a suffix in compound words); office, department (in a workplace)
Definition
室 (shì) is almost never used alone — it appears as a suffix in compounds like 教室 or 办公室. For a free-standing 'room,' say 屋子.
noun
room (often as a suffix in compound words)officedepartment (in a workplace)
Measure word · 间
Examples
- 室。Wǒ men měi tiān zài jiào shì shàng kè.We go to class in the classroom every day.
- 。Tā de bàn gōng shì zài èr lóu.His office is on the second floor.
- 室。Zhè tào fáng zi shì sān shì yì tīng.This apartment has three bedrooms and one living room.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
至
至zhì室shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
室 puts 宀 (roof) over 至, the spot where someone stops, giving the meaning of a house or residence.
Appears in
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