厢 (xiāng): compartment

Meanings

1 compartment
2 wing (of a building)
3 side room

Characters

厢

xiāng

compartment; wing

Examples

我们订了一个包厢。

Wǒmen dìng le yīgè bāoxiāng.

We booked a private compartment.

火车的车厢里坐满了人。

Huǒchē de chēxiāng lǐ zuò mǎn le rén.

The train carriage was full of people.

西厢记是中国古典名著。

Xī xiāng jì shì Zhōngguó gǔdiǎn míngzhù.

Romance of the Western Chamber is a Chinese classic.

Tips

usage

Rarely used alone in modern Chinese. Common compounds: 车厢 (train carriage), 包厢 (private box/room), 厢房 (side room).

Components

radical

厂 chǎng

cliff; factory shelter

Outer cliff radical — two strokes forming a sloped overhang, originally a roof against a cliff face. In the simplified form 厢 it replaces the traditional 广 (broader-shelter) of 廂. Anchors 厢 in the building-shelter family with 厨 kitchen, 厕 toilet, 厅 hall — all rooms tucked under a roof.

phonetic

相 xiāng

appearance; mutual

Inner 相 supplies the sound xiāng with no drift, identical pinyin. 相 itself depicts an eye 目 looking at a tree 木 ('inspecting'). Carries a faint semantic flavor here: a 厢 is a side room flanking the main hall, two wings facing each other on either side of the central courtyard — exactly the 'mutual' side-by-side image of 相.