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家中 (jiā zhōng) — home; one's household/family

Definition

Literary/written way to say 'home' or 'one's household' (often used as an adverbial phrase meaning 'at home' with 在). More formal than 家 or 家里, which are everyday equivalents.

noun
homeone's household/family

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ cháng cháng zài jiā zhōng kàn shū.
    I often read at home.
  • 家中。
    jiā zhōng Yǒu hěn duō rén.
    There are many people in the home.
  • 。
    Tā jīn tiān bú zài jiā zhōng.
    He is not at home today.

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.

家jiāhome/family
中zhōnginside

家 means home and 中 means inside, so 家中 refers to being at home.

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.

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 →

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →
Appears in
Home & Housing

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