幽居 (yōu jū) — to live in seclusion, to retire to a quiet life

Definition

Literary verb meaning 'to live in seclusion / retire to a quiet life,' evoking a mountain or rural retreat. Marked as formal-written — far more elevated than plain terms like 隐居 yǐnjū.

verb
to live in seclusionto retire to a quiet life

Examples

  • 幽居。
    Tā jué dìng zài shān zhōng yōu jū.
    He decided to live in seclusion in the mountains.
  • ，幽居。
    Tuì xiū hòu, lǎo rén xuǎn zé le yōu jū.
    After retiring, the old man chose to live in seclusion.
  • 幽居。
    Tā xǐ huan yuǎn lí chéng shì yōu jū.
    She prefers to live in seclusion away from the city.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

幽yōusecluded
居jūdwell

The secluded quiet in “幽” describes the dwelling implied by “居”.

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
山山shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢆶
𢆶𢆶幽yōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

幽 pairs 山, mountain, with 𢆶 as a sound part.

Open 幽 →

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
尸尸shī
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ居jū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

居 is built from 尸 as the meaning part and 古 (gǔ) as the sound part.

Open 居 →

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