Definition
大杂院 refers to a traditional Chinese courtyard compound (四合院) that has been subdivided to house multiple families or households, typically in older urban neighborhoods like Beijing's hutong. It evokes a communal lifestyle where residents share common spaces and facilities, and is a culturally loaded term often associated with close-knit but crowded living conditions, nostalgia, and the social fabric of old Beijing.
p.w.
(compound) a large courtyard house occupied by many householdstypically in a hutong neighborhood
Examples
- 大杂院，。Xiǎoshíhou wǒ zhù zài yí gè dà zá yuàn lǐ, línjūmen dōu xiàng yì jiā rén yíyàng.When I was little, I lived in a large compound with many families, and the neighbors were all like family.
- 大杂院，。Nà ge dà zá yuàn suīrán pòjiù, què chōngmǎn le shìjǐng shēnghuó de qìxī.That compound was old and shabby, yet it was full of the flavor of everyday street life.
- 大杂院。Lǎo Běijīng rén hěn huáiniàn guòqù dà zá yuàn lǐ nà zhǒng rènao de línlǐ guānxì.Old Beijingers fondly remember the lively neighborly relationships in those large compounds.
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