Definition
楼 (lóu) refers to a multi-story building or a specific floor (e.g., 五楼 = fifth floor). 房子 (fángzi) is a general term for a house or apartment as a residential unit, not necessarily multi-story. For floors, 层 (céng) is a classifier used with numbers (e.g., 五层 = five floors/stories), while 楼 is a noun meaning 'floor' in addresses.
noun
building (with more than one story)floorstory (in a building)
Measure word · 层, 座, 栋
Easily confused
- 搂lǒulook-aliketo hug, to embrace
- 漏lòusound-aliketo leak (liquid, gas, etc.)
- 缕lǚlook-alike(classifier) for slender, wispy things: strands (of hair), wisps (of smoke/mist), beams (of light), puffs (of fragrance)
- 屡lǚlook-alikerepeatedly, time and again (formal/literary; commonly used in 屡次)
Examples
- 楼。Wǒ jiā zhù zài wǔ lóu.My home is on the fifth floor.
- 。lóu xià yǒu yí gè chāoshì.There is a supermarket downstairs.
- 楼，。Zhè lóu hěn gāo, yǒu èrshí céng.This building is very tall; it has twenty floors.
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