门庭 (mén tíng) — area in front of a gate; entrance courtyard; (figurative) family status, social standing

Definition

Literally 'gate and courtyard,' it refers both to the entrance area of a traditional home and, figuratively, to a family's social standing or reputation.

noun
area in front of a gateentrance courtyard(figurative) family statussocial standing

Examples

  • 门庭，。
    Tā jiā mén tíng hěn dà, zhǒng le hěn duō huā.
    His family's courtyard is big and planted with many flowers.
  • 门庭，。
    Zhè ge jiā zú mén tíng xiǎn hè, zài dāng dì hěn yǒu shēng wàng.
    This clan is prominent and highly respected in the local area.
  • ，门庭，。
    Tā dāng le lǎo shī yǐ hòu, jiā lǐ mén tíng ruò shì, zǒng shì hěn rè nao.
    After he became a teacher, his home was always bustling with visitors.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

门méngate
庭tíngcourtyard

门 is the gate and 庭 the courtyard, together the entrance area and by extension family standing.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →

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
广广guǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
廷
廷tíng庭tíng
Same sound today

庭 combines 广 with 廷. The 廷 part gives the sound, and 广 is the meaning part.

Open 庭 →

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