信箱

• Pinyin: xìn xiāng
• Hanzi breakdown: 信 = 亻 (person) + 言 (speech), meaning letter; 箱 = 竹 (bamboo) + 相 (appearance), meaning box

Meaning

Mailbox; letterbox. A container for receiving or sending mail.

Can refer to both physical mailboxes (邮政信箱) and email addresses (电子信箱 or 邮箱). In modern usage, 邮箱 is more common for email. Physical mailboxes are becoming less common but still used for official correspondence.

Examples

1. 我每天都会检查一下信箱有没有新邮件。 I check the mailbox every day to see if there's any new mail.
2. 请把信投进门口的信箱里。 Please drop the letter into the mailbox at the door.
3. 他给我留了一个电子信箱地址。 He left me an email address.

Usage Guide

Context: mail, communication

Tone: practical

Do Say

• 你的信箱是什么？(What's your email address?)
• 信箱里有一封挂号信。(There's a registered letter in the mailbox.)

Don't Say

• 发到我的信箱 (More common to say 发到我邮箱 for email in casual speech)

Origin & History

Compound of 信 (letter, mail) and 箱 (box), literally a box for letters.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal