Answer to the Difference Between “出门(chūmén)” and “出家(chūjiā)”

Correct Answer: A
Although the two phrases “

” and

” seem similar, their usage expresses different meanings. Having said that, which one do you think you should choose when you want to express the action of “going out,” as in “leaving the house,” in Chinese?
“出(chū),” as a verb, means to go out of and leave. “门(mén)” refers to a door. Thus, “

” is a verb phrase that means to go out, go away from home, or go on a journey.

Tiānqì hěn rè，wǒ bùxiǎng

.
天气     很  热，我    不想     

。
The weather is too hot. I don’t want to go out.

Nǐ dǎsuàn jǐdiǎn

?
你  打算     几点   

？
What time do you plan to head out?

Now, let’s take a look at the other phrase, “

.” As you may know, “家(jiā)” refers to home and family. So “

,” also as a verb phrase, means to leave the secular world and become a monk or nun. As a result, people often refer to monks and nuns as “

.” Essentially, the meaning signifies that they have completely left their families and will never return.

Tā xiǎng

.
他   想    

。
He wants to become a monk.

rén bùnéng chī ròu.

人 不能 吃 肉。
The monk (or nun) cannot eat meat.

In the above test, we want to imply that Linda goes out at 8 o’clock every day, so we use “出门(chūmén)” instead of “出家(chūjiā).” Therefore, the correct answer is A.
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