courtyard compound; tenement courtyard
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
large, crowded courtyard where many families live; a compound of shared dwellings
informalA traditional residential form in northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing, where multiple households share a single courtyard and facilities, creating a close-knit community. The '儿' (ér) suffix is part of the standard pronunciation in northern dialects, particularly Beijinghua.
Wǒ我
xiǎo小
shí时
hou候
zhù住
zài在
hú胡
tong同
lǐ里
de的
dà大
zá杂
yuàn院
r儿
。
I lived in a courtyard compound in a hutong when I was a child.
Zhè这
ge个
dà大
zá杂
yuàn院
r儿
lǐ里
zhù住
le了
shí十
jǐ几
hù户
rén人
jiā家
。
More than ten households live in this crowded courtyard.
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Dà大
zá杂
yuàn院
r儿
de的
shēng生
huó活
suī虽
rán然
yōng拥
jǐ挤
，
dàn但
lín邻
lǐ里
guān关
xì系
hěn很
qīn亲
mì密
。
Life in the tenement courtyard is crowded, but the relationships between neighbors are very close.