家 meaning and stroke order
Home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc)
How to write 家, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 家
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- home
- family
- (polite) my (sister, uncle etc)
- classifier for families or businesses
- refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China
- noun suffix for a specialist in some activity, such as a musician or revolutionary, corresponding to English -ist, -er, -ary or -ian
How 家 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Roof.
宀 gives the meaning and 豕 hints at the sound.
Radical: 宀 (roof), shared by 67 characters on this site.
How to remember 家
家 is a roof 宀 sitting over 豕 (shǐ), a pig. Picture a house with a pig sheltered under its roof, and you have a home. The data lists 宀 as the meaning part (roof) and 豕 as the sound part.
家 means home or family. It is also a measure word for families and businesses, as in 一家饭馆 (yì jiā fànguǎn), one restaurant. As a suffix it marks a specialist, like 作家 (zuòjiā) for author. Example: 我回家了。(Wǒ huí jiā le.) I'm home.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 家 with 字 (zì), which has 子 under the same roof, and with 豕 lookalike 象 (xiàng). Also note that in 家里 (jiā li) the second syllable is neutral tone, so do not stress it.
Common words with 家
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 回家 | huí jiā | to return home | HSK 1 |
| 国家 | guójiā | country; nation; state | HSK 1 |
| 家里 | jiā li | home | HSK 1 |
| 家人 | jiārén | family member; (old) servant | HSK 1 |
| 在家 | zàijiā | to be at home; (at a workplace) to be in (as opposed to being away on official business 出差 | HSK 1 |
| 大家 | dàjiā | everyone; influential family | HSK 2 |
| 家庭 | jiātíng | family; household | HSK 2 |
| 作家 | zuòjiā | author | HSK 2 |
| 科学家 | kēxuéjiā | scientist | HSK 2 |
| 家长 | jiāzhǎng | head of a household; family head | HSK 2 |
| 全家 | quánjiā | whole family | HSK 2 |
| 画家 | huàjiā | painter | HSK 2 |
| 专家 | zhuānjiā | expert; specialist | HSK 3 |
| 家乡 | jiāxiāng | hometown; native place | HSK 3 |
家 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 家
Learning 家 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 家
How many strokes are in 家?
家 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 家 mean?
家 (jiā) means home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc). A common word with it is 回家 (huí jiā), meaning "to return home".
How do you pronounce 家?
家 is pronounced jiā, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 家?
The radical of 家 is 宀, which carries the idea of "roof". Dictionaries list 家 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 家?
The traditional form of 家 is 傢. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 家 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 家 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 家 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
Why do Chinese people say 我家 instead of 我的家?
With close relationships and places like home, the 的 is usually dropped, so 我家 (wǒ jiā) sounds natural for my home or my family. 我的家 is grammatical but sounds more emphatic or written.
How is 大家 different from 家人?
大家 (dàjiā) means everyone in a group, like 大家好 (dàjiā hǎo), hello everyone. 家人 (jiārén) means your family members specifically.