房间 (fáng jiān) — room | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

房间 (fángjiān) refers to a single room inside a building — like a bedroom or hotel room. For the whole building use 房子; for general 'space' use 地方.

noun

room

Measure word · 间, 个

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

房 and 间 both point to enclosed living space, giving the sense of a room.

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

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in