Kilo Lingo

(wò shì) - bedroom in Mandarin

shì

Traditional: 臥室

#2889 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

bedroom

Word origin

A compound of 卧 (wò, to lie down) and 室 (shì, room), literally the room where one lies down.

Origin
compound
Root
卧 (wò, to lie down) + 室 (shì, room)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 卧

Stroke order for 室

Examples

My bedroom is not big, but it is very quiet.

This flat has three bedrooms.

He is reading in the bedroom.

The bedroom window faces the garden.

The children's bedroom is upstairs.

卧室 (wò shì) is a bedroom. It is the standard word in property adverts, floor plans and any description of a home, and it takes the measure word 间: 三间卧室 is three bedrooms.

In casual speech people often say 房间 instead and let context carry the meaning, or name the room by whose it is, as in 我房间. 卧室 is the neutral, slightly more formal choice, and it is what you want when the room type matters.

The trap is 睡房, which some learners produce by reasoning from 睡觉. It exists in Cantonese influenced usage but sounds odd in Mandarin. Stick with 卧室, and note the tone pair: two fourth tones in a row, so let the first one stay short.

Where this fits

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Mandarin · Free printables

卧室: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "卧室" (bedroom): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 58.