n., m.
A roofed dwelling sheltering a pig, marking a settled household and family. Home, family, household; also a measure word for shops, companies, and institutions. A pig (豕) under a roof (宀): where the pig is kept, the family makes its home.
家
suffix
A roofed shelter where a family cohabits. A suffix after a noun marking a specialist, craftsman, or person of a given status. A pig (豕) beneath a roof (宀), the heart of the home a master keeps.
Common Usage & Traps
- 我家 — my home / my family
- 回家 — to go home / return home
- 在家 — to be at home
- 家人 — family members
- 一家商店 — a shop
-
去家回家回 is for returning to your own base. 去家 sounds like going to a random house.
-
一个商店一家商店Shops and businesses use 家, not 个. 一个商店 sounds like counting a random building.
-
我的家是北京我家在北京 / 我是北京人Location uses 在. Origin uses 是...人. 我的家是北京 is not how people say it.
Should you say 我的家 or 我家 when talking about your own home?
Drop 的 with 家 unless you are making a contrast.
我家 is the everyday choice. It sounds close and personal, like 'my place' in English. 我的家 is not wrong, but it sounds more deliberate or contrastive. Use 我的家 when you point to your home versus someone else's: 我的家在北京，他的家在上海. “今天白天的时候，我去我家这边的超市买东西。” (Today, during the daytime, I went to the supermarket near my home to buy some groceries.) ── [《很贵的苹果》](/read/buying-expensive-apples#s1)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday mention | 我家在上海。 | 我的家在上海。(stiff in casual chat, unless contrasting) |
Why do Chinese people say 回家 instead of 去家 for 'go home'?
回家 means return home; 去家 sounds like going to a random house.
回 means return to a place you belong to. 家 is your base, so Chinese pairs it with 回. 去 means go to a destination that is not your base. So 我回家 is normal; 我去家 is broken. For another person's home, you can say 去他家.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Your own home | 我回家。 | 我去家。 |
| Someone else's home | 我去他家。 | 我回他家。(unless you live there) |
Why do Chinese people say 一家商店, not 一个商店?
家 counts shops and businesses, like 一家商店 or 一家饭店.
个 is the default counting word for many things. But shops, restaurants, and businesses use 家. Think of 家 as turning the place into a family-run business. So 一家商店 sounds native; 一个商店 sounds like you are counting buildings.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Shop | 一家商店 | 一个商店 |
| Restaurant | 一家饭店 | 一个饭店 |
| Apple | 一个苹果 | 一家苹果 |
Appears in Stories 2 stories
Real context sentences across different daily scenarios and graded readings.
Follow a day from waking at six-thirty to coming home at eight, then leap across days, months, and years. This simple story helps you practice speaking about routines and life changes with clear time words.
-
晚上八点回到 家 。
This short, simple story follows a shopper's trip to the supermarket to buy apples. You'll learn useful vocabulary for shopping, prices, and comparing things.
-
今天白天的时候，我去我 家 这边的超市买东西。
Questions & Discussion 0 questions
No questions or discussions yet. Have a question about this character/word? Be the first to ask!