家政

• Pinyin: jiā zhèng
• Hanzi breakdown: 家 = 宀 + 豕 (household); 政 = 正 + 攴 (correct/upright + strike — governing/administering affairs)

Meaning

Household management; homemaking; domestic services. Refers both to the management of household affairs and to the professional services industry providing domestic help such as cleaning, cooking, and childcare.

The term has both a traditional sense (managing the home) and a modern commercial sense (the domestic services industry). The 家政服务 industry has grown significantly in China with urbanisation and dual-income households.

Examples

1. 随着生活节奏的加快，越来越多的城市家庭选择聘请家政人员来承担日常的家务劳动。 As life moves faster and faster, more and more urban families choose to hire domestic help to take on everyday housework.
2. 这所职业学校开设了家政专业，专门培养能够胜任烹饪、护理和家庭管理等工作的专业人才。 This vocational school offers a domestic-services program that trains professionals for cooking, caregiving, and household management.
3. 在传统观念中，家政事务历来被视为女性的专属领域，如今这一看法已受到越来越多的质疑。 In traditional thinking, household work has long been seen as women’s exclusive domain, but that view is increasingly being questioned.

Usage Guide

Context: domestic, services industry, society, labour

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 随着老龄化加深，专业家政需求上涨，保障家政工权益成了重要议题。(As the population ages, demand for professional domestic services is rising, and protecting domestic workers' rights has become an important issue.)
• 高质量的家政服务不仅能够有效减轻职场家长的生活压力，还能为老年人、残障人士等特殊群体提供必要的生活照料与情感陪伴。(High-quality domestic services not only effectively alleviate the lifestyle pressures of working parents but also provide necessary daily care and emotional companionship for special groups such as the elderly and people with disabilities.)

Don't Say

• 家政 in formal contexts refers to the domestic services industry or household management. Do not confuse it with 政务 (government affairs) or use it to mean 'family politics' — use 家庭事务 for informal family management matters

Origin & History

家 (family; home) + 政 (affairs; governance; administration)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal