看家狗 (kān jiā gǒu) — watchdog (literal, a dog that guards a house); (figurative) watchdog, henchman, agent for a landlord or authority

Definition

A guard dog that watches the house. Figuratively, a hired thug who serves a landlord or boss — the 'watchdog' in the sense of an enforcer, not an investigative reporter.

noun
watchdog (literal, a dog that guards a house)(figurative) watchdog, henchman, agent for a landlord or authority
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 看家狗，。
    Wǒ jiā de kān jiā gǒu fēi cháng zhōng chéng, wǎn shàng yì yǒu rén kào jìn jiù jiào.
    My family's watchdog is very loyal; it barks whenever someone approaches at night.
  • 看家狗。
    Nà ge dì zhǔ gù le yì pī kān jiā gǒu lái shōu zū.
    That landlord hired a bunch of watchdogs to collect rent.
  • 看家狗，。
    Tā bú guò shì lǎo bǎn de yì tiáo kān jiā gǒu, zhěng tiān qī fu gōng rén.
    He's nothing but a watchdog for the boss, bullying the workers all day.

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.

看家guard house
看kànguard家jiāhouse
动宾Verb + object
狗gǒudog

看家 means guard the house and 狗 is dog, so a watchdog guards 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 →

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
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù狗gǒu
Same sound today

狗 combines 犬, meaning dog, with 句, which gives the sound.

Open 狗 →

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