Meaning of 家属
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- family member
- (family) dependent
How to use 家属
家属 is a formal word used in hospitals, workplaces, schools and official notices to refer to the relatives of a patient, employee or other person. In casual talk about your own family, people usually say 家人 (jiārén). Example: 请病人家属在外面等候。(Qǐng bìngrén jiāshǔ zài wàimiàn děnghòu.) Family members of patients, please wait outside.
家 (jiā) is a home, and 属 (shǔ) means to belong to. 家属 are the people who belong to your household.
Common mistake: Learners often use 家属 for their own family in everyday speech, such as 我的家属很好. This sounds stiff and official, so 我的家人 (wǒ de jiārén) is more natural. Also, 属 here is read shǔ, not zhǔ.
家属 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
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属 shǔ · category · 12 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 家属.
| 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 家属
What does 家属 mean?
家属 (jiāshǔ) means "family member; (family) dependent" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 家属?
家属 is made of 2 characters: 家 (10 strokes), 属 (12 strokes). That is 22 strokes in total.
Is 家属 an HSK word?
Yes. 家属 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 家属 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 家属 is written 家屬.
What is the difference between 家属 and 家人?
家人 is the everyday, warm word for your family. 家属 is more formal and is usually used from an outside point of view, for example by a hospital, company or government office talking about someone's relatives.
Can 家属 mean a spouse?
Yes, in some contexts 家属 refers specifically to a husband or wife, especially in older or workplace usage, such as 军人家属 (jūnrén jiāshǔ), the family or spouse of a soldier. Context tells you whether it means a spouse or relatives in general.