家什 (jiā shí) — household utensils and implements; tools of a trade or profession

Definition

家什 is a colloquial, often northern-dialect word for household utensils, tools, or implements — used in everyday speech rather than writing, and covers both kitchenware and trade tools.

noun
household utensils and implementstools of a trade or profession
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • ，家什。
    Bān jiā de shí hou, tā bǎ suǒ yǒu jiā shí dōu dǎ bāo hǎo le.
    When moving, he packed up all the household utensils.
  • 家什，。
    Lǎo tiě jiàng de jiā shí suī rán jiù, dàn jiàn jiàn dōu hǎo yòng.
    The old blacksmith's tools are old, but every one works well.
  • 家什。
    Chú fáng lǐ de jiā shí dōu bǎi dé hěn zhěng qí.
    The kitchen utensils are all arranged very neatly.

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jiāhousehold
什shénassorted items

Household (家) items, with 什 pointing to assorted tools.

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 什 →

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