住宿 (zhù sù) — to stay (overnight), to lodge

Definition

住宿 covers both the act of staying overnight and the place you stay. 入住 is specifically checking in (hotels/moving in); 停留 means stopping briefly without overnighting.

verb
to stay (overnight)to lodge

Examples

  • 住宿。
    Wǒ men zài zhè jiā jiǔ diàn zhù sù le sān wǎn.
    We stayed at this hotel for three nights.
  • 住宿。
    Tā chū chāi shí zài gōng sī fù jìn de lǚ guǎn zhù sù.
    He stays at a hotel near the company when on business trips.
  • 住宿？
    Qǐng wèn zhè lǐ kě yǐ zhù sù ma?
    Excuse me, can we stay here?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

住zhùstay
宿sùlodge

住 and 宿 both mean to stay or lodge, giving 'accommodation'.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
主
主zhǔ住zhù
Same sound today

住 pairs 亻, the person radical (written fully as 人), with 主, which supplies the sound.

Open 住 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 人人rénperson
  • 囗囗wéibamboo mat

The shape comes from an old drawing of 人, a person, resting on a mat.

Open 宿 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Accommodation

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