寄

Phono-semantic compound:

宀 (roof radical) - semantic, related to dwelling, lodging, or shelter.

奇 (strange, unusual) - phonetic, providing the sound “기.”

Original meaning: to live temporarily under another’s roof, hence “to lodge” or “to depend on.”

Extended to: to entrust or to send, as one relies on another to deliver or safeguard.

寄宿 (기숙) — lodging, boarding

寄居 (기거) — living temporarily in another place

寄託 (기탁) — entrusting, depositing

寄付 (기부) — donation, contribution

寄生 (기생) — parasitic, living off another

寄送 (기송) — sending, dispatching

In classical Chinese poetry, 寄 often conveys the sense of entrusting feelings or thoughts to letters, poems, or natural objects: e.g., 寄情 (“to entrust one’s emotions”).

The character reflects the idea of impermanence and dependence—to寄 is not to own, but to stay, entrust, or send temporarily.