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看家 (kān jiā) — to watch over / guard the house (while the owner is away); one's special skill or forte (as in 看家本领)

Definition

看家 (kān) has two unrelated senses: literally 'watch/guard the house' (e.g. 看家狗, a guard dog), and figuratively 'one's signature skill or specialty' (e.g. 看家本领).

verb
to watch over / guard the house (while the owner is away)one's special skill or forte (as in 看家本领)

Examples

  • ，看家。
    Zhōu mò wǒ yào chū chāi, má fan nǐ bāng wǒ kān jiā sān tiān jiā.
    I'll be on a business trip this weekend; could you please watch over my house for three days?
  • 看家，。
    Zhè dào cài shì tā de kān jiā cài, měi cì jù huì dōu zuò.
    This dish is his specialty — he makes it at every gathering.
  • 。
    Wǒ men jiā de kān jiā gǒu fēi cháng zhōng shí.
    Our family's guard dog is very loyal.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

看kànwatch over
家jiāhome

看 means watch over, and 家 means home; the phrase means guarding the home.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 看 puts 手 (hand) over 目 (eye), showing a hand placed above the eyes to gaze into the distance.

Open 看 →

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
Home & Housing

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