家
jiā
- Pinyin
- jiā
- Pinyin (Plain)
- jia
- Tone
- 1
- Strokes
- 10
- Radical
- 宀
- Readings
- jiājiaTone: 1used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]Order: 0Primary
- Stroke Order Code
- Speed
- Stroke Order Data
- ["M 464 824 Q 515 779 558 762 Q 574 761 583 776 Q 587 791 583 808 Q 565 851 498 862 Q 458 871 444 865 Q 438 862 442 850 Q 446 837 464 824 Z", "M 260 676 Q 251 703 237 712 Q 218 728 215 701 Q 221 659 161 605 Q 140 583 167 523 Q 182 495 203 523 Q 212 538 260 651 C 265 662 265 662 260 676 Z", "M 260 651 Q 291 627 333 640 Q 448 677 669 705 Q 715 711 732 708 Q 751 695 749 687 Q 749 686 721 608 Q 714 593 721 589 Q 730 585 746 598 Q 803 640 850 654 Q 889 669 888 677 Q 887 687 807 743 Q 780 764 669 739 Q 564 726 374 692 Q 322 683 267 677 Q 263 677 260 676 C 230 672 234 666 260 651 Z", "M 455 536 Q 536 555 631 568 Q 641 567 650 579 Q 650 589 629 599 Q 593 618 498 588 Q 495 588 493 587 Q 447 575 403 569 Q 372 565 339 559 Q 312 555 334 539 Q 367 515 407 527 L 409 527 L 455 536 Z", "M 428 452 Q 477 497 478 499 Q 479 508 471 520 Q 464 530 455 536 C 432 555 419 555 409 527 Q 384 449 219 354 Q 212 351 219 347 Q 261 340 360 400 Q 361 401 365 403 Q 381 415 405 433 L 428 452 Z", "M 551 346 Q 503 421 428 452 C 401 465 380 449 405 433 Q 417 426 428 418 L 482 370 Q 495 357 506 339 L 532 275 Q 551 200 524 93 Q 512 48 498 42 Q 486 35 424 47 Q 382 56 380 48 Q 379 41 392 29 Q 458 -19 486 -52 Q 499 -70 514 -66 Q 536 -59 555 -28 Q 606 74 590 224 Q 584 260 573 295 L 551 346 Z", "M 428 418 Q 425 415 423 409 Q 396 342 230 238 Q 209 228 234 227 Q 306 227 429 327 Q 432 336 482 370 C 507 387 443 444 428 418 Z", "M 506 339 Q 505 338 502 335 Q 412 203 213 94 Q 200 88 186 79 Q 170 69 181 65 Q 188 58 203 62 Q 332 86 479 221 Q 525 263 525 266 Q 529 270 532 275 C 550 299 525 362 506 339 Z", "M 572 336 Q 674 411 723 440 Q 742 444 737 457 Q 730 473 710 494 Q 689 513 665 515 Q 649 514 650 493 Q 653 478 643 461 Q 615 418 559 350 Q 556 347 556 344 C 542 318 548 318 572 336 Z", "M 556 344 Q 555 345 551 346 C 524 359 552 316 573 295 Q 616 252 653 209 Q 704 154 796 81 Q 826 62 866 74 Q 918 87 958 98 Q 971 102 982 108 Q 989 115 976 123 Q 961 130 843 160 Q 737 185 583 328 Q 579 332 572 336 L 556 344 Z"]
- Meaning
- In Chinese, “家” most commonly means “home” or “house,” and by extension “family” (the people who live together as a unit). It is also used after a profession to mean “specialist” or “expert” in that field (e.g., 音乐家 = musician).
- Metadata
- Locale: enCached At: 3/24/2026, 2:07:26 PM
Usage
The character 家 (jiā) most commonly means “home” or “family.” Learners first meet it in very basic words and phrases like 回家 “go home,” 在家 “at home,” and 我家 “my home/family.” It also appears in family-related words such as 国家 “country” (literally “nation-home”), 家人 “family members,” and 作家 “writer, author,” emphasizing the idea of a household, group, or person belonging to a “home” or field. In everyday speech, saying 我家三口人 means “There are three people in my family,” and 大家 means “everybody,” literally “big family,” extending the “home/family” idea to a wider group. Another very common use is as a suffix meaning a person who is an expert or professional in a certain field, similar to “-ist” or “-ian” in English. For example, 科学家 “scientist,” 音乐家 “musician,” and 画家 “painter/artist” all use 家 to indicate someone who is specialized or accomplished. Learners also quickly encounter 家 in words for types of shops or businesses, such as 店家 “shop,” or as a measure word for businesses and families (一家公司 “a company,” 一家饭店 “a restaurant,” 一家人 “a (whole) family”). Across these uses, the core sense is either “home/family” itself or the idea of a recognized, established “house” in a professional or social sense.
Handwriting Notes
「家」 in handwriting typically looks like a compact “roof + inside” structure: the top 宀 component forms a shallow roof that slightly spreads left and right, and the bottom part looks like a small “pig-like” shape (豕) sitting under it. In everyday writing, people often compress the lower part so the whole character becomes more square, and the roof and the inside can appear quite close together, sometimes almost touching. The top dots/lines of 宀 may be written as a flowing curve or slightly angular strokes, and the components inside can be simplified or merged, so individual strokes may be less clearly separated than in printed fonts. Different writers vary how wide the roof is, how much they simplify the “豕” part, and how tightly everything is packed: some forms are tall and narrow, others short and wide, and cursive writing may connect strokes or omit small hooks. Despite this variation, the key recognisable features are the clear 宀 “roof” on top and a dense component underneath. Modern AI handwriting recognition systems are trained on many such handwritten variations of 「家」 so they can correctly identify the character even when the writer’s style is loose, stylised, or slightly distorted.
Description
家 is a common Chinese character meaning “home” or “family.” It can also refer to a specialist or expert in a field, as in 科学家 (scientist). The character is pronounced jiā in Mandarin.
Common Words
- 家jia1home
- 咱家za2 jia1I
- 家园jia1 yuan2home
- 家宅jia1 zhai2home
- 家室jia1 shi4wife
Example Sentences
我喜欢家。
wo3 xi3 huan5 jia1
I like home.
咱家很常见。
za2 jia1 hen3 chang2 jian4
咱家 is very common.
我们在学习家园。
wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 jia1 yuan2
We are learning home.
这个家宅很重要。
zhe4 ge5 jia1 zhai2 hen3 zhong4 yao4
This home is important.
请写一下“家”。
qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 jia1
Please write '家'.