家规 (jiā guī) — family rules | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

family rules

家规，。
Wǒ men jiā de jiā guī hěn yán gé, wǎn shàng shí diǎn bì xū huí jiā.
Our family rules are very strict; we must be home by ten at night.
家规。
Měi gè hái zi dōu yào zūn shǒu jiā lǐ de jiā guī.
Every child must follow the family rules at home.
家规。
Fù mǔ yì qǐ zhì dìng le xīn de jiā guī.
The parents together set new family rules.

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” means family and “规” means rule, together giving rules of a family.

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 規; 规 is its simplified writing.

夫見規

The simplified 规 is a shorthand; the traditional form 規 shows a cross-shaped compass in its early drawing, and its later form uses 夫 and 見.