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家庭 (jiā tíng) — family, household

Definition

家庭 (jiātíng) is the formal noun for 'family' as a unit (family life, household). 家 is the everyday word that can mean home, family, or even a household business; use 家庭 for the family unit itself.

noun
familyhousehold
Measure word · 户, 个

Examples

  • 家庭。
    Wǒ de jiā tíng hěn xìng fú.
    My family is very happy.
  • 家庭。
    Měi gè zhōu mò wǒ men jiā tíng huì yì qǐ chī fàn.
    Every weekend our family eats together.
  • 家庭。
    Tā xǐ huan hé jiā tíng yì qǐ qù lǚ xíng.
    He likes to travel with his family.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

家jiāhome
庭tíngcourtyard

家 means home and 庭 means courtyard; together they name the household and its members.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
廷
廷tíng庭tíng
Same sound today

庭 combines 广 with 廷. The 廷 part gives the sound, and 广 is the meaning part.

Open 庭 →
Appears in
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