Chinese word

搬家

Pronunciation

Pinyinbān jiā

Meaning

  • verbmove

Example

我们下个月要搬家。wǒ men xià gè yuè yào bān jiā

We are moving next month.

Illustration for 搬家 (move)

More examples

我这个星期帮朋友搬家。wǒ zhè ge xīng qī bāng péng yǒu bān jiā

I am helping a friend move this week.

Core concept

The home changes while the household's everyday possessions travel with it.

Common phrases

  • 要搬家yào bān jiā

    be going to move

  • 开始搬家kāi shǐ bān jiā

    start moving

  • 帮忙搬家bāng máng bān jiā

    help move

Similar words

搬bān: Move heavy objects or furniture by carrying them from place to place.
搬进bān jìn: Bring people or things into a new house or room.
搬出bān chū: Take people or things from inside a house or building to the outside or elsewhere.
搬到bān dào: Transfer a person or thing from one place to a specific destination.

Definition in Chinese

把家具、行李等从一个住处搬到另一个住处，表示更换居住地点的动作。bǎ jiā jù xíng lǐ děng cóng yí gè zhù chù bān dào lìng yí gè zhù chù biǎo shì gēng huàn jū zhù dì diǎn de dòng zuò

Word origin

搬家 (bānjiā, "move home") is formed from 搬 (bān, "move") and 家 (jiā, "home"), so the word focuses on relocating a household rather than moving one isolated object.

Usage tips

  • English uses move for both changing homes and shifting an object, but this everyday Chinese verb normally refers to changing the place where a household lives.

Other meanings

  • movingnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 搬家公司bān jiā gōng sīmoving companynoun
  • 搬家费bān jiā fèimoving feenoun

Word lists with this word