LookupMandarin · 繁體 · English

ChineseCharactersMeanings inMandarin–English · CC-CEDICTSources ↗

DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

當家作主

简当家作主 · 繁當家作主

Mandarin · pinyin dāng jiā zuò zhǔ

to be in charge in one's own house (idiom)
to be the master of one's own affairs

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

當: dāng · bear, accept, undertake; just
家: jiā · house, home, residence; family
作: zuò · make; work; compose, write; act, perform
主: zhǔ · master, chief owner; host; lord
当: dāng · bear, accept, undertake; just

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1–4–3 · dang1 jia1 zuo4 zhu3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

dong1 gaa1 zok3 zyu2

Cantonese word readings for 當家作主. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

dong1 gaa1 zok3 zyu2

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be in power of one's house
(figuratively) to be the master of one's own affairs; destiny; etc.

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack