屋子 (wū zi) — room; house | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

屋子 (wūzi) is a colloquial word for 'room' — the same meaning as 房间 but more everyday and informal. Note: it does NOT mean 'house'; for that use 房子.

noun

roomhouse

Measure word · 间

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.

屋 gives the room or house sense and 子 completes the everyday word.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

𡉉

𡉉𡉉屋wū

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屋 comes from 室, meaning room, with 𡉉 for sound; its upper part later changed into an unrelated shape.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Appears in