房 (fáng) means "house, room" with HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: house
Other meanings:
- room
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
房 does not appear in oracle bone script and is a later phono-semantic compound. It combines 戶 (hù, a single-leaf door) as the semantic component with 方 (fāng) as the phonetic. The earliest attested forms are in seal script, where 戶 sits above 方 to suggest a chamber entered through a side door.
Form evolution
In small seal script the 戶 element is drawn as a clear pictograph of a hinged door, and 方 retains its plough-like shape below. Clerical script flattened 戶 into three straight strokes and squared off 方, producing the modern block form. The 楷書 form 房 preserves this top-bottom structure with no further simplification in either traditional or simplified Chinese.
How the meaning evolved
The original sense was a side room or chamber flanking the main hall of a traditional courtyard house, as opposed to 堂 (the main hall). From this it broadened to any room, then to a whole house or building in modern Mandarin, and by further extension to branches of a family (東房, 西房) and even to astronomical lodges. Today 房 covers everything from 房間 (room) to 房子 (house) to 房地產 (real estate).
Cultural note
The older sense of a lateral chamber survives in 書房 (study), 廚房 (kitchen) and 洞房 (bridal chamber), each of which is historically a specific side room rather than a freestanding building. Learners often assume 房 means house and 屋 means room, but the classical distribution is nearly the reverse.
Basic info
| Pinyin | fáng |
| Meanings | house, room |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #93 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 房
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.