家当 (jiā dàng) — family belongings, property

Definition

noun

family belongingsproperty

家当，。
Tā bǎ quán bù jiā dàng dōu biàn mài le, rán hòu chū guó le.
He sold off all his family belongings and then went abroad.
家当，。
Zhè jiā rén de jiā dàng bù duō, dàn shōu shi dé hěn zhěng qí.
This family doesn't have much property, but it's kept very tidy.
家当。
Yì chǎng huǒ zāi shāo guāng le tā men suǒ yǒu de jiā dàng.
A fire burned up all of their belongings.

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 points to the family, and 当 refers to property, giving a sense of family property.

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.

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 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

Appears in