家 (jiā) is a Chinese character meaning “home”. It is written from 宀 (roof) and 豕 (pig; swine), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “home; family”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
宀 + 豕
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字：家，居也。从宀，豭省声
Memory aid
A roof (宀) with a pig (豕) under it — picture a farmhouse where the family and its pig share one roof: home. (This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.)
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 回家huí jiāto go home; to return home家 = jiāHSK 1
- 家庭jiā tíngfamily; household家 = jiāHSK 3
- 大家dà jiāeveryone; everybody家 = jiāHSK 1
- 卖家mài jiāseller; vendor家 = jiā
- 家乡jiā xiānghometown家 = jiā
- 画家huà jiāpainter; artist家 = jiā
- 家族jiā zúfamily; clan家 = jiā
- 家畜jiā chùdomestic animal; livestock家 = jiā
- 家眷jiā juànone’s wife and children; family家 = jiā
Go deeper
All readings
home; family
home; family; household; a specialist in a field (as in 作家 writer)
家庭；住所。也指掌握某种专门学识或从事某种专门活动的人。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 回家huí jiāto go home; to return home家 = jiāHSK 1
- 家庭jiā tíngfamily; household家 = jiāHSK 3
- 大家dà jiāeveryone; everybody家 = jiāHSK 1
- 卖家mài jiāseller; vendor家 = jiā
- 家乡jiā xiānghometown家 = jiā
- 画家huà jiāpainter; artist家 = jiā
- 家族jiā zúfamily; clan家 = jiā
- 家畜jiā chùdomestic animal; livestock家 = jiā
- 家眷jiā juànone’s wife and children; family家 = jiā
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 家 mean?
家 (jiā) means home; family; household; a specialist in a field (as in 作家 writer).
How do you pronounce 家?
It is pronounced jiā.
What parts is 家 made of?
宀 (roof) and 豕 (pig; swine), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：家，居也。从宀，豭省声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 家 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 家?
宀. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 家?
Common ones are 回家, 家庭, 大家. The reading of 家 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.