室

• Pinyin: shì
• Hanzi breakdown: 室 = 宀 (roof) + 至 (arrive), depicting an enclosed space one arrives at

Meaning

Room; chamber. A formal term for an enclosed space designated for a specific purpose.

Mainly used as a suffix in compound words denoting rooms with specific functions: 教室 (classroom), 办公室 (office), 卧室 (bedroom), 会议室 (meeting room). Seldom used alone in modern spoken Chinese.

Examples

1. 请到旁边的会议室开会。 Please go to the meeting room next door for the meeting.
2. 教室里的灯还亮着。 The lights in the classroom are still on.
3. 这个办公室有三个窗户。 This office has three windows.

Usage Guide

Context: buildings, official

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 请问会议室在几楼？(Excuse me, which floor is the meeting room on?)
• 她在实验室做了一下午的实验。(She did experiments in the lab all afternoon.)

Don't Say

• 我的室很大。(Don't use 室 alone for 'room' in everyday speech — use 房间 instead. 室 mainly appears as a suffix in compounds like 教室 or 卧室.)

Origin & History

An ancient character with 宀 (roof) over 至 (arrive), originally referring to the inner room of a house in classical Chinese, distinct from 堂 (the main hall).

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal