室内 (shì nèi) — (noun) interior, inside (of a building or room)…

Definition

noun

interiorinside (of a building or room)

adverb

indoors

室内。
Wǒ men kě yǐ zài shì nèi zuò yùn dòng.
We can exercise indoors.
室内。
shì nèi De wēn dù bǐ wài miàn gāo.
The indoor temperature is higher than outside.
室内。
Zhè ge fáng zi de shì nèi shè jì hěn xiàn dài.
The interior design of this house is very modern.

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.

室 means room, 内 means inside; together they denote the inside of a room.

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.

宀至室

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

至

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.

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

The shape shows 入 entering into 冂, a house, so it pictures bringing something indoors, giving the sense inside.

Appears in