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家里 (jiā lǐ) — home (as a place); at home

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'at home' or 'home' as a location, treating home as an inside space. Compare 家 (the household or family) and 家人 (family members).

noun
home (as a place)at home

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ jiā lǐ yǒu yì zhī māo.
    I have a cat at home.
  • 家里？
    jiā lǐ De diàn huà hào mǎ shì duō shǎo?
    What is the home phone number?
  • 。
    Tā zhōu mò yì bān dāi zài jiā lǐ.
    He usually stays at home on weekends.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

家jiāhome
里lǐinside

家 names the home, and 里 adds the sense of being inside it.

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →
Appears in
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