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家属 (jiā shǔ) — family member; dependent (of a person, especially in official or legal contexts)

Definition

家属 is a formal term for a family member or dependent, common in official, medical, and legal contexts. Compare with 家人 (everyday word for any family member) and 亲属 (formal 'relative/kin').

noun
family memberdependent (of a person, especially in official or legal contexts)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 家属。
    Shǒu shù qián xū yào jiā shǔ qiān zì.
    A family member needs to sign before the surgery.
  • 家属。
    Gōng sī wèi yuán gōng hé jiā shǔ tí gōng bǎo xiǎn.
    The company provides insurance for employees and their dependents.
  • 家属。
    Tā zuò wéi jiā shǔ cān jiā le bì yè diǎn lǐ.
    He attended the graduation ceremony as a family member.

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jiāfamily
属shǔdependents

家 (family) and 属 (dependents) together mean the people in a household, including those counted as dependents.

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 屬; 属 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
㞑Written in full as尾wěitail
Sound part声符shēngfú
蜀
蜀shǔ屬shǔ
Same sound today

The traditional form 屬 pairs 㞑 (tail) with 蜀 as a sound part; the simplified 属 is a shorthand.

Open 属 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Family & Kinship

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