住
- to live, to reside, to dwell;
Etymology
Phono-semantic compound:
人 (person radical) - semantic, indicates human action.
主 (master, lord) - phonetic, giving the sound 주.
Original sense: “a person remaining in one place,” hence “to stay” or “to lodge.”
Contrast with 生 (“to live, to be alive”):
生 - “to live” in the sense of “to exist, to be born, to have life.”
住 - “to live” in the sense of “to reside, to dwell somewhere.”
Usage in Korean
住宅 (주택) — house, residence
住所 (주소) — address
住民 (주민) — resident, inhabitant
入住 (입주) — to move in, to occupy
住持 (주지) — abbot of a Buddhist temple (lit. “to reside and maintain”)
Words that derived from 住
Additional notes
In Classical Chinese, 住 originally emphasized temporary stay or lodging (to stop, to stay for a while).
For permanent settlement, the character 居 was preferred.
In later vernacular, 住 expanded to mean residing more permanently, overlapping with 居.
Japanese usage adopted this sense, so the verb 住む (すむ) is written with 住 to mean “to live, to dwell.”
In Buddhism, 住 (Skt. sthiti) is often used in a specialized sense of “abiding” or “dwelling,” whether in a meditative state, Dharma, or spiritual condition (e.g., 法住 = abiding in the Dharma).
