投宿 (tóu sù) — to seek lodging for the night, to put up for th…

Definition

A formal/literary verb meaning 'to stay overnight' at a temporary place like a inn or guesthouse. Often pairs with 在 to mark the lodging spot.

verb

to seek lodging for the nightto put up for the night

Easily confused

投宿。
Wǒ men zài shān lǐ de xiǎo lǚ guǎn tóu sù le yì wǎn.
We put up for the night at a small inn in the mountains.
，投宿。
Tiān sè yǐ wǎn, wǒ men zhǐ hǎo zhǎo dì fāng tóu sù.
It was already dark, so we had to find a place to stay for the night.
投宿。
Tā tóu sù zài yì jiā pián yi de kè zhàn lǐ.
He put up for the night at a cheap inn.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

宿sùlodging

投 means to seek, and 宿 is lodging for the night.

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.

扌殳投

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

殳

殳shū投tóu

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, and the right part 殳 gives the sound of the character.

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

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