房间

房间 (fángjiān) means 'room' — a single enclosed space inside a building, whether a bedroom, hotel room, office, or any private interior. It's the everyday word a Chinese speaker reaches for when talking about 'my room' (我的房间), 'a hotel room' (酒店房间), or 'cleaning the room' (打扫房间). Unlike English 'room,' which can also mean 'space' (no room left), 房间 only refers to physical enclosed spaces — for the abstract 'space / room,' Chinese uses 空间 (kōngjiān) or 地方 (dìfang). The character 间 inside 房间 also doubles as the room's measure word, which is why you'll hear both 一个房间 and 一间房间 ('one room'); 间 sounds slightly more standard for hotel and rental contexts. For specific room types, Chinese uses compounds: 卧室 ('bedroom'), 客厅 ('living room'), 厨房 ('kitchen').