管家
guǎn jiā · HSK 7
butler
🏠🔑 管家 = 管 manage + 家 home → the one who manages the home
管 means to manage or be in charge; 家 means home or household. Together they name the person who runs the household: a housekeeper or butler.
管 — bamboo radical 竹 + official 官 (phonetic)
Originally a pictograph of a bamboo tube or pipe, written with the bamboo radical 竹 on top. The lower component 官 supplies the sound. From 'bamboo pipe' it extended to 'tube,' then to 'manage' or 'control' — since pipes channel and regulate flow, the meaning shifted toward administration.
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').