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庄家 (zhuāng jiā) — banker (in a gambling game); farmhouse (or farmstead)

Definition

In gambling, 庄家 is the 'banker' or 'dealer' — the player (often the house) who deals cards and wins when others lose. The other sense, 'farmhouse', is rare and unrelated.

noun
banker (in a gambling game)farmhouse (or farmstead)

Examples

  • 庄家，。
    Tā zài dǔ jú zhōng zuò zhuāng jiā, fù zé fā pái.
    He acts as the banker in the gambling game and is responsible for dealing cards.
  • 庄家。
    Zhè ge zhuāng jiā de zhǔ rén shì gè lǎo nóng mín.
    The owner of this farmhouse is an old farmer.
  • 庄家，。
    Dà jiā lún liú zuò zhuāng jiā, měi gè rén dōu yǒu jī huì yíng qián.
    Everyone takes turns being the banker; everyone has a chance to win money.

Origin

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 莊; 庄 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
壯
壯zhuàng莊zhuāng
Same sound today

The traditional form 莊 pairs 艸 (grass) with 壯 as a sound part; the simplified 庄 is a later shorthand.

Open 庄 →

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 →
Appears in
Gambling & Chance

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