楼房 (lóu fáng) — multi-story building, building of two or more f…

Definition

A building of two or more stories. 栋 is the standard measure word; use 楼 alone when speaking generally or in compounds like 高楼.

noun

multi-story buildingbuilding of two or more floors

Measure word · 栋

楼房。
Zhè zuò chéng shì xīn gài le xǔ duō gāo céng lóu fáng.
This city has built many new high-rise buildings.
楼房。
Tā jiā zhù zài qián miàn nà dòng bái sè de lóu fáng lǐ.
His family lives in that white multi-story building ahead.
楼房，。
Lǎo shì de lóu fáng méi yǒu diàn tī, shàng xià lóu hěn bù fāng biàn.
Old-style multi-story buildings don't have elevators, making going up and down very inconvenient.

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.

楼lóumulti-story building

楼 (multi-story building) and 房 (house) combine to mean a building of two or more floors.

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 樓; 楼 is its simplified writing.

木婁樓

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

婁

婁lóu樓lóu

Same sound today

The traditional form 樓 pairs 木 (tree) with 婁 as its sound part; the simplified 楼 is a later shorthand.

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.

Appears in