住
to live; to reside; to stay
zhù
What does 住 mean?
住 (zhù) means 'to live / reside / stay (somewhere)' — used for where your home is and for short-term lodging like hotels. Two HSK 1 patterns to lock in: (1) 住在 + place = 'live in / at' (我住在北京 = 'I live in Beijing'); (2) 住 + duration = 'stay for' (住三天 = 'stay three days'). Unlike English, Chinese distinguishes 'live' (residing somewhere) from 'live' (be alive); 住 only covers the residence sense.
To say 'be alive,' Chinese uses 活 (huó). 住 also functions as a resultative complement meaning 'firmly / steadily,' fixing the result of another verb in place: 记住 ('memorize / remember firmly'), 站住 ('stand still / freeze'), 抓住 ('grab and hold'). Those compound uses come later (HSK 3+), but it's worth knowing that 住 carries a core sense of 'staying / holding in place.'
Character breakdown
to live; to reside; to stop firmly. Left radical 亻 (person) — what a person does in a place: live there. Right side 主 ('host/master') is phonetic.
Memory hook: 亻 (person) + 主 (master/host) = a person being host of a place = lives there.
Example sentences
你住在哪儿？
Nǐ zhù zài nǎr?
Where do you live?
spoken
我住在上海。
Wǒ zhù zài Shànghǎi.
I live in Shanghai.
neutral
他住三天就走。
Tā zhù sān tiān jiù zǒu.
He'll stay three days and then leave.
neutral
我们住一家小酒店。
Wǒmen zhù yì jiā xiǎo jiǔdiàn.
We're staying at a small hotel.
spoken
Common phrases with 住
Synonyms
居住 is formal/written, used on forms, in legal contexts, or in news: 居住地 = 'place of residence.' Spoken Chinese always uses 住.
待 means 'to stay (somewhere) for a while' — emphasizes presence and time, not residence. 我在北京待了三天 = 'I stayed in Beijing for three days.' 住 implies sleeping/lodging there; 待 just means being there.
Don't confuse 住 with
在 means 'to be at / in (a location)' or marks present action. 住 specifically means 'to reside.' 我在北京 = 'I'm in Beijing (right now)'; 我住在北京 = 'I live in Beijing (permanently).'
活 means 'to be alive / to live (be living)' — biological aliveness. 住 means 'to reside (somewhere).' English 'I live in Beijing' uses 住; 'plants live in the desert' (are alive) uses 活.
FAQ
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