家事 (jiā shì) — housework; family matters

Definition

noun

houseworkfamily matters

家事。
Tā měi tiān dōu yào zuò hěn duō jiā shì.
She has to do a lot of housework every day.
家事，。
Zhè shì wǒ men de jiā shì, wài rén bú yòng guǎn.
This is our family matter — outsiders don't need to interfere.
家事。
Tā cóng lái bù guān xīn jiā lǐ de jiā shì.
He never cares about family matters at home.

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 gives family or home, and 事 gives matters, making affairs concerning the household.

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.

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Appears in