Meaning of 家乡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- hometown
- native place
Measure word: 個|个
How to use 家乡
家乡 is a neutral, slightly warm word for the place you grew up or where your family originally comes from. It often appears with words like 想念 (miss) or 回 (return). Example: 我很想念我的家乡。(Wǒ hěn xiǎngniàn wǒ de jiāxiāng.) I really miss my hometown.
家 (jiā) means home or family, and 乡 (xiāng) means countryside or village. Put them together and you get the home village where your family comes from, your hometown.
Common mistake: Learners often swap the order and write 乡家, but the correct word is 家乡. Also watch the tones: both syllables are first tone, jiā xiāng, so keep them high and level.
家乡 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
家 jiā · home · 10 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
乡 xiāng · country or countryside · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 家乡.
| 回家 | huí jiā | to return home |
| 国家 | guójiā | country; nation; state |
| 家里 | jiā li | home |
| 家人 | jiārén | family member; (old) servant |
| 在家 | zàijiā | to be at home; (at a workplace) to be in (as opposed to being away on official business 出差 |
| 大家 | dàjiā | everyone; influential family |
| 家庭 | jiātíng | family; household |
| 作家 | zuòjiā | author |
| 科学家 | kēxuéjiā | scientist |
| 家长 | jiāzhǎng | head of a household; family head |
| 全家 | quánjiā | whole family |
| 画家 | huàjiā | painter |
Questions about 家乡
What does 家乡 mean?
家乡 (jiāxiāng) means "hometown; native place" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 家乡?
家乡 is made of 2 characters: 家 (10 strokes), 乡 (3 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 家乡 an HSK word?
Yes. 家乡 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 家乡 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 家乡 is written 家鄉.
What is the difference between 家乡 and 老家?
Both can mean hometown. 老家 (lǎojiā) is more casual and often means your family's ancestral home, while 家乡 sounds a bit more formal or emotional and is common in writing.
Can 家乡 refer to a big city, not just a village?
Yes. Even though 乡 suggests countryside, 家乡 can be any place you are from, including a large city like 上海 (Shànghǎi).