家小 (jiā xiǎo) — wife and children; (in narrower usage) wife

Definition

家小 (jiā) refers to one's wife and children, a literary/formal term not used in everyday speech. Contrast with 家庭 (jiātíng), the neutral word for 'family/household.'

noun
wife and children(in narrower usage) wife
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 家小。
    Tā dài zhe jiā xiǎo bān dào nán fāng qù le.
    He moved to the south with his wife and children.
  • 家小，。
    Tā de jiā xiǎo dōu zài xiāng xia, měi nián chūn jié cái tuán jù.
    His wife and children are all in the countryside; they only reunite for Spring Festival every year.
  • 家小，。
    Yí gè rén zhào gù yí dà jiā jiā xiǎo, zhēn de hěn bù róng yì.
    It's really not easy for one person to take care of a whole family of wife and children.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

家jiāfamily
小xiǎoyounger members

The terms 家 and 小 stand side by side for family and younger members, together denoting one's wife and children.

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 →

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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