四合院(quadranglecourtyard),又称四合房，是中国传统的房屋建筑。四合院是由四面的房子围合起来形成的院落。一般而言，大四合院中的房屋较多。北京四合院是最典型的四合院,也被认为是真正意义上的四合院。北京四合院宽敞开阔，阳光充足。除北京外，中国北方其他地方也以四合院为主要的民居(residence)形式。由于气候、建筑材料、文化传统等因素的差异,不同地区的四合院也会呈现出不同的特色。

　　参考翻译:

　　The quadrangle courtyard, also called thequadrangle house, is a traditional building in China.The quadrangle courtyard has rooms built on eachof the four sides, with the rooms completelyenclosing the courtyard. In general,largercourtyards have more rooms. The Beijing courtyards are the most typical ones and generallyconsidered to be the quadrangle courtyards in real sense. Beijing courtyards are spacious andsunny. Beside Beijing, the quadrangle courtyard is also the main style of residence in someplaces in northern China.The characteristics of quadrangle courtyards around the country varydepending on factors such as climate, building materials and cultural tradition.

　　1.传统的房屋建筑：可译为traditional building。

　　2.四合院是由四面房子围合起来形成的院落：可理解为“四合院四面都有房子,由这些房子围成一个院落”，前半句可译为The quadrangle courtyard has rooms built on eachof the four sides,后半句可使用with的复合结构，译为withthe rooms completely enclosing the courtyard。

　　3.北京四合院是最典塑的四合院：可译为The Beijiiigcourtyards are the most typical ones…或Beijing courtyards are typical quadrangle courtyards...