HSK 1 · Places

家 jiā “home” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 家 means

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

Measure word 个 gè · 一个家 yí ge jiā

How to say 家

家jiā1st tone, high and level

家 in a sentence

他的家在哪儿？
Tā de jiā zài nǎr?
Where’s his home?
Sentence #333607 from Tatoeba
我到家给你打电话。
Wǒ dào jiā gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà.
I’ll call you when I get home.
Sentence #8501492 from Tatoeba · translation adapted
我现在住在叔叔家。
Wǒ xiànzài zhù zài shūshu jiā.
I live in my uncle’s house now.
Sentence #352944 from Tatoeba

How 家 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 家 (jiā) with each of its parts in a different colour

家jiāhome

宀roof · miánMeaning part
豕pig · shǐSound part

宀 hints at the meaning (roof); 豕 (shǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with jiā.

Memory aidA pig 豕 under a roof 宀: a home, a family.

How to write 家

家 10 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

家 (jiā) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it — Stroke order chart for 家 (jiā). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 家

家 has 豕 (pig) under the roof 宀.

FAQs

What does 家 mean in English?

家 (jiā) means “home, family” or “(polite) my (sister, uncle etc)”. It is an HSK 1 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.

How do you pronounce 家?

Say it jiā: jiā with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.

Is 家 the same in Traditional Chinese?

Yes. 家 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.

What measure word goes with 家?

Use 个 (gè). For example, one home is 一个家 (yí ge jiā).

How do you type 家 on a keyboard?

Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type jia with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 家 from the suggestions. Typing jia into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.

What HSK level is 家?

家 is an HSK 1 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.