Chinese word

人家

Pronunciation

Pinyinrén jiā

Meaning

  • nounsomeone else's house

Example

人家的窗户很漂亮。rén jiā de chuāng hù hěn piào liàng

The windows in someone else's house are beautiful.

Illustration for 人家 (someone else's house)

More examples

他不好意思敲人家的门。tā bù hǎo yì si qiāo rén jiā de mén

He felt awkward about knocking on someone else's door.

Core concept

One household's ordinary residence, or one residence within a wider spread of homes.

Common phrases

  • 敲人家的门qiāo rén jiā de mén

    knock on another person's door

  • 到人家做客dào rén jiā zuò kè

    go to another person's home as a guest

  • 住在人家里zhù zài rén jiā lǐ

    live in another person's house

Similar words

家jiā: A person's home and family household.
房子fáng zi: A residential building, such as a house or apartment.

Definition in Chinese

既可指单独一户人家，也可泛指若干住户的集合，常用于描述某地的住户分布，语义偏向他人或一般的民宅。jì kě zhǐ dān dú yí hù rén jiā yě kě fàn zhǐ ruò gān zhù hù de jí hé cháng yòng yú miáo shù mǒu dì de zhù hù fēn bù yǔ yì piān xiàng tā rén huò yì bān de mín zhái

Word origin

人家 (rénjiā, "people's home") is a direct compound of 人 (rén, "person") and 家 (jiā, "home"), so the word naturally connects residents with their dwelling.

Usage tips

  • The word often places the speaker outside the household, which suits descriptions of other people's homes or ordinary dwellings more than the usual label for one's own home.

Other meanings

  • private homenoun

Opposites

  • 自家zì jiāone's own housenoun

Word lists with this word