How to Say "Backyard" in Chinese

后院

hòuyuàn

The Chinese word for "backyard" is 后院 (hòuyuàn).

后院 is used to refer to a yard located to the rear of a house.

Meaning: yard to the rear of a house (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The word is composed of 后 (hòu), meaning "back" or "behind" and 院 (yuàn), meaning "courtyard" or "yard".

You may also encounter the phrase 后面的院子 (hòu miàn de yuàn zi), which specifically means "the yard at the back".

hòuyuàn

The phrase 后院起火 (hòuyuàn qǐhuǒ), meaning 'a fire starts in the backyard', is a common idiom used to describe a sudden crisis or problem occurring in one's own home or private affairs.
The word 院 (yuàn) is also the root for many words describing institutions, such as 医院 (yī yuàn) for 'hospital' or 学院 (xué yuàn) for 'college'.
In traditional Chinese architecture, the 后院 was often a secluded space reserved for women and family members, separate from the public areas where men received guests.

你家后院有几种鸟？
How many kinds of birds are in your backyard?
This sentence is useful for asking about the types of birds found in someone's 后院.
Tatoeba #1516245 by gonnastop, translation #680372 by Source_VOA
我们的后院宽敞而整洁。(wǒ men de hòu yuàn kuān chǎng ér zhěng jié.)
Our backyard is spacious and well-maintained.
让我们在后院烧烤吧！(ràng wǒ men zài hòu yuàn shāo kǎo ba!)
Let's have a barbecue in the backyard!
我们在后院烤肉吧。
Wǒmen zài hòuyuàn kǎoròu ba.
Let's have a barbecue in the backyard.
后院里有很多花。
Hòuyuàn lǐ yǒu hěnduō huā.
There are many flowers in the backyard.

A couple is planning their weekend activities at home.

梓涵 Zihan

志强，后院干净吗？
Zhìqiáng, hòuyuàn gānjìng ma?
Zhiqiang, is the backyard clean?
志强 Zhiqiang

非常干净，你可以去检查一下。
Fēicháng gānjìng, nǐ kěyǐ qù jiǎnchá yīxià.
It's very clean, you can go check it.
梓涵 Zihan

那我们去后院坐一会儿吧。
Nà wǒmen qù hòuyuàn zuò yīhuǐ'er ba.
Then let's go sit in the backyard for a while.
志强 Zhiqiang

好啊，我也想去那里放松。
Hǎo a, wǒ yě xiǎng qù nàlǐ fàngsōng.
Okay, I want to go there to relax too.

Sources

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