家书

家書

jiāshū

noun #68,413

Measure Word

一封家书 fēng

Meanings

1 letter from home; letter to one's family
2 family letters (collected and published)

Characters

Examples

HSK 4

他每个月都给父母写一封家书。

Tā měi ge yuè dōu gěi fùmǔ xiě yì fēng jiāshū.

He writes a letter home to his parents every month.

HSK 6

战争年代，一封家书往往要走好几个月才能送到。

Zhànzhēng niándài, yì fēng jiāshū wǎngwǎng yào zǒu hǎojǐ ge yuè cái néng sòngdào.

In wartime, a letter home often took months to arrive.

Tips

culture

杜甫's 《春望》 line 烽火连三月，家书抵万金 (beacon fires have burned three months; a letter from home is worth ten thousand in gold) is the word's most famous use. Famous collections carry it in their titles: 《曾国藩家书》, the letters of the Qing statesman 曾国藩, and 《傅雷家书》, the translator 傅雷's letters to his son, the pianist 傅聪.

Stroke Order

家 jiā

书 shū