居

Phono-semantic compound:

尸 (house/cover radical, originally body lying down) - semantic, related to dwelling or place.

古 (old, ancient) - phonetic, provides the sound “거.”

Originally depicted a person under a shelter, indicating “to dwell” or “to stay.”

居住 (거주) — residence, to live in

住居 (주거) — dwelling, habitation

別居 (별거) — living separately

同居 (동거) — cohabitation, living together

居心 (거심) — intention, motive

隱居 (은거) — seclusion, retirement from public life

In Confucianism, the term 居 often implies one’s moral disposition or inner dwelling (居心, “where the mind resides”).

In Daoist and Buddhist contexts, 隱居 (to retire into seclusion) was valued as a way of cultivating wisdom apart from worldly distractions.