Meaning
房东 literally means 'house owner' and refers to a person who owns property and rents it out to tenants. The term is gender-neutral and applies to both male and female landlords. It's a common term used in rental agreements and everyday conversations about housing.
Usage
This is the standard term used when discussing rental situations in China. You'll hear it frequently in contexts like signing leases, paying rent, or discussing housing issues. It's a neutral, formal term appropriate for all situations. When speaking directly to your landlord, you might add a respectful title like 房东先生 or 房东女士, though many tenants simply say 您 (you, polite form).
Examples
- 01我的房东人很好，每次有问题都及时帮我解决。, .My landlord is very nice and always helps me solve problems promptly.
- 02下个月房租要涨了，房东昨天通知我的。, .The rent is going up next month; the landlord notified me yesterday.
Characters
Measure words
- 位一位房东
- 个一个房东
Common collocations
- 找房东to find/contact the landlord
- 给房东打电话to call the landlord
- 跟房东商量to discuss with the landlord
Antonyms
Origin
The character 东 (east) in 房东 comes from an ancient Chinese convention where 'east' was associated with the host or master position, as the honored guest would typically be seated facing east. Thus 东 came to mean 'owner' or 'host' in compound words.