Meaning of 院子
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- courtyard
- garden
- yard
- patio
- (old) servant
Measure word: 個|个
How to use 院子
院子 is the everyday word for the open yard or courtyard of a house, especially a traditional home where rooms face a shared space. People use it with verbs like 在 (zài) and 打扫 (dǎsǎo) to talk about playing, sitting, or cleaning outside. Example: 孩子们在院子里玩。(Háizimen zài yuànzi li wán.) The kids are playing in the yard.
院 (yuàn) has the 阝 'mound or wall' side on the left and 完 (wán, complete) on the right. Picture a space made complete by the walls around it: a walled courtyard. The 子 (zi) is just a noun ending.
Common mistake: Learners often say yuánzi with a second tone, or mix it up with 园子 (yuánzi, garden plot). 院子 is fourth tone yuàn plus a neutral-tone zi. Also, 院 alone appears in words like 医院 (yīyuàn) and 学院 (xuéyuàn), but those mean institutions, not yards.
院子 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.
院 yuàn · courtyard · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
子 zi · noun suffix · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 院子.
| 孩子 | háizi | child |
| 儿子 | érzi | son |
| 房子 | fángzi | house; building (single- or two-story) |
| 医院 | yīyuàn | hospital |
| 桌子 | zhuōzi | table; desk |
| 学院 | xuéyuàn | college; educational institute |
| 杯子 | bēizi | cup; glass |
| 电影院 | diànyǐngyuàn | cinema; movie theater |
| 包子 | bāozi | baozi; bao (steamed stuffed bun) |
| 本子 | běnzi | book; notebook |
| 样子 | yàngzi | appearance; manner |
| 日子 | rìzi | day; a (calendar) date |
Questions about 院子
What does 院子 mean?
院子 (yuànzi) means "courtyard; garden" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 院子?
院子 is made of 2 characters: 院 (9 strokes), 子 (3 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 院子 an HSK word?
Yes. 院子 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 院子 and 花园?
院子 is the enclosed open space belonging to a house, whether or not anything grows there. 花园 (huāyuán) is a garden planted with flowers, like a park garden or a decorated yard.
Why do people say 院子里 instead of just 院子?
When 院子 marks a location after words like 在, Chinese usually adds 里 (li) to mean 'in the yard'. So 在院子里 sounds natural, while 在院子 alone sounds incomplete in most sentences.