家人
jiārén · HSK 1
homefolk
👨👩👧 家 (home) + 人 (person) = home-people, i.e. family members
家 itself is roof 宀 over 豕 (pig), an old sign for household. Add 人 (person) and you get the people of the household — your kin. Compare 主人 (host) or 客人 (guest): X + 人 names a role-bearing person.
家 — roof 宀 + pig 豕
Originally a pictograph of a pig under a roof, since domesticated pigs were kept in or under the home in ancient China. Over time the meaning broadened from 'household' to 'family,' and by extension 'home' or a specialist (as in 专家, 'expert').
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.