屋

• Pinyin: wū
• Hanzi breakdown: 屋 = 尸 (body/shelter) + 至 (to arrive), a place to arrive and rest

Meaning

House; room; building.

A general term for a building or room. Often appears in compounds like 房屋 (house/building), 屋顶 (roof), 屋子 (room), 屋里 (inside the room). Can be used alone in literary or colloquial contexts, but more commonly paired with other characters in modern usage.

Examples

1. 屋外下着大雨，屋里却温暖如春。 It was pouring rain outside, but inside the house it was warm as spring.
2. 这栋老房屋已经有一百多年的历史了。 This old building has over a hundred years of history.
3. 他在屋顶上安装了太阳能板。 He installed solar panels on the roof.

Usage Guide

Context: housing, everyday, literary

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 进屋吧，外面冷。(Come inside, it's cold out.)
• 屋顶漏雨了。(The roof is leaking.)

Don't Say

• 我买了一个屋 — sounds incomplete; say 房子 for a house or 屋子 for a room in casual speech

Origin & History

Pictographic character depicting a structure with a roof, representing a dwelling or shelter.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal