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房东 (fáng dōng) — landlord

Definition

房东 is the person who owns the property you rent from — contrast with 主人, which is the more general 'owner/host' of property, pets, or gatherings. Pairs naturally with 房租 (the rent they collect).

noun
landlord
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 房东。
    Wǒ men de fáng dōng měi gè yuè yī hào lái shōu fáng zū.
    Our landlord comes to collect the rent on the first of every month.
  • 房东。
    fáng dōng Shuō xià ge yuè yào xiū rè shuǐ qì.
    The landlord said he will fix the water heater next month.
  • ，房东。
    Wǒ zhù le yì nián, fáng dōng cóng lái méi zhǎng guò fáng zū.
    I've lived here for a year, and the landlord has never raised the rent.

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.

房fánghouse
东dōngowner; host

房 names the house and 东 names the owner of that house, so the word means the landlord.

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
戶戶hùdoor
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng房fáng
Same sound today

房 pairs 戶 (door) with 方 (fāng) as a sound part; 方 can also fit 'side,' as in a side room beside the main room.

Open 房 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 東; 东 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 東 originally drew a full bag tied at both ends. The simplified 东 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 东 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 5Social Roles & Status

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