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宿舍 (sù shè) — dormitory (for students or workers)

Definition

A shared residential building for students or workers, typically with multiple bedrooms. 寝室 is a single bedroom (and can mean any bedroom); 客房 is a hotel guest room, not a dorm.

noun
dormitory (for students or workers)
Measure word · 间

Examples

  • 宿舍。
    Wǒ zài sù shè lǐ xué xí.
    I study in the dormitory.
  • 宿舍。
    Zhè jiān sù shè yǒu liǎng zhāng chuáng.
    This dorm room has two beds.
  • 宿舍？
    Nǐ men de sù shè zài jǐ lóu?
    Which floor is your dormitory on?

Origin

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.

宿sùlodging
舍shèhouse

宿 (lodging) and 舍 (house) combine to mean a house for staying, such as a dormitory.

Characters in this word

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

  • 人人rénperson
  • 囗囗wéibamboo mat

The shape comes from an old drawing of 人, a person, resting on a mat.

Open 宿 →

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú舍shè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

舍 is 余 plus 口. 余 was the original picture for this word, and 口 was later added to distinguish it.

Open 舍 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Home & Housing

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