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群居 (qún jū) — to live in groups; to be gregarious (of animals or people)

Definition

Verb meaning 'to live in groups; to be gregarious' — typically used for animals (ants, birds) or, as in the examples, for early humans. Distinguish from 共居 (cohabit) and 独居 (live alone).

verb
to live in groupsto be gregarious (of animals or people)

Examples

  • 群居。
    Mǎ yǐ shì qún jū dòng wù.
    Ants are social animals.
  • 群居。
    Rén lèi zǎo qī yě shì qún jū shēng huó de.
    Early humans also lived in groups.
  • 群居，。
    Zhè zhǒng niǎo lèi xǐ huan qún jū, hěn shǎo dān dú huó dòng.
    This type of bird likes to live in groups and rarely acts alone.

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.

群qúngroup
居jūlive

群 means in groups, and 居 means to live, so 群居 is living together in groups.

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
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
君
君jūn群
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

群 pairs 羊, a sheep, to point to a herd or group, with 君 giving the sound.

Open 群 →

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 →
Appears in
Animals & MammalsSociety & Public Life

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