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家族 (jiā zú) — family, clan

Definition

家族 refers to an extended family or clan — a lineage-based group with shared ancestry, broader than 家庭 (the nuclear household). 家 is the everyday word for family/home; 家族 emphasizes the larger kin network and its shared history.

noun
familyclan

Examples

  • 家族。
    Tā men jiā zú lì shǐ yōu jiǔ.
    Their family has a long history.
  • 家族。
    Zhè ge jiā zú zài dāng dì hěn yǒu yǐng xiǎng lì.
    This family is very influential locally.
  • 家族。
    Wǒ men jiā zú měi nián dōu huì jǔ bàn yí cì jù huì.
    Our family holds a gathering every year.

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; family
族zúclan

Both 家 and 族 refer to kinship groups, so together they mean family or clan.

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.

族 combines 㫃, a flag, and 矢, an arrow.

Open 族 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Family & Kinship2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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