家 (jiā) means "home, family" with 10 strokes, radical 宀 (roof), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: home
Other meanings:
- family
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
Oracle bone and bronze forms show 宀 (a roof) above 豕 (a pig), depicting a pig kept under a roof. In early agricultural society a domesticated pig inside the dwelling was a concrete marker of a settled household, which is why the graph stands for home.
Form evolution
Oracle bone graphs draw the pig realistically with snout, body, and legs under a clear roof. Bronze and seal forms keep both components but regularise the pig into the standard 豕 shape. Clerical script squares the strokes and fixes the modern proportions, and kaishu produces the 家 used in both traditional and simplified scripts today.
How the meaning evolved
The original sense of household or dwelling broadened to family, lineage, and clan, then to a school of thought (儒家 Confucianists, 道家 Daoists) and to an expert or specialist (科学家 scientist, 作家 writer). As a measure and suffix it now marks businesses and institutions, as in 一家公司 (one company).
Cultural note
Some etymologists argue the pig under the roof originally referred to a sacrificial or ancestral pig rather than everyday livestock, linking 家 to the ancestral shrine at the centre of early family life. Learners should note that 家 is also used as a familiar suffix attached to pronouns, as in 人家 and 大家, where it no longer means home.
Mnemonic
A pig under the roof — home (wealth)
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Pinyin | jiā |
| Meanings | home, family |
| Stroke count | 10 strokes |
| Radical | 宀 (#40: roof) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2 |
| Frequency | #159 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 家
Related characters
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.