寒舍 (hán shě) — my humble home (polite term for one's own house) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A very formal, self-deprecating way to refer to one's own home when inviting or hosting guests. It pairs with humble verbs like 欢迎 and 来访 to signal politeness, not literal cold or shabbiness.

noun

my humble home (polite term for one's own house)

Examples

寒舍，。
Huān yíng gè wèi lái dào hán shě, qǐng suí biàn zuò.
Welcome everyone to my humble home, please make yourselves comfortable.
寒舍，。
hán shě Suī xiǎo, dàn chōng mǎn le jiā rén de wēn nuǎn.
My home may be small, but it's full of family warmth.
，寒舍。
Gǎi tiān yǒu kòng de huà, qǐng lái hán shě zuò zuò.
If you're free another day, please come by my humble home for a visit.

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.

寒hánhumble/cold

寒舍 uses 寒 for humble or shabby and 舍 for house, a modest way to say one's home.

Characters in this word

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

宀宀miánhouse
人人rénperson
茻茻mǎnggrass

寒 shows 宀 (house), 人 (person), and 茻 (grass): a person sleeping in grass inside a house to keep out the cold.

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

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.

Appears in

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