所 (suǒ) — (classifier) for houses, buildings, institutions; (noun) place, location; (particle) used before a verb to form a relative clause or in the passive construction 被…所…
Definition
As a measure word, 所 counts buildings, schools, and institutions — 座 is for larger or more imposing structures (mountains, bridges, towers); 栋 is for standalone houses and buildings.
classifier
for housesbuildingsinstitutions
noun
placelocation
particle
used before a verb to form a relative clause or in the passive construction 被…所…
Measure word · 个
Easily confused
Examples
- 所。Zhè suǒ xué xiào yǒu sān qiān míng xué shēng.This school has 3,000 students.
- 。Zhè shì wǒ de zhù suǒ.This is my residence.
- 所。Tā suǒ shuō de huà ràng wǒ hěn gǎn dòng.What he said moved me very much.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
戶
戶hù所suǒ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
所 pairs 斤, an axe, with 戶, which gives the sound hù; the old meaning was the sound of logging.
Appears in
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