Meaning & readings
dwell, reside, live, inhabit
On’yomi ジュウ、ヂュウ、チュウ
Kun’yomi す.む、す.まう、-ず.まい
Nanori し、じゅ、すみ
Origin
The character 住 combines a person component on the left (亻) with 主 on the right, which serves as a sound hint for the pronunciation. The person element indicates the character relates to human activity or condition, while 主 suggests how the word should sound. Together, these components create a character meaning to dwell or reside — the idea of a person staying in a place. The 主 component doesn't contribute a separate meaning here; it simply helps readers know how to pronounce the character.
Components
- 亻
- 主
A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.
Common words
- 安住 あんじゅう living in peace; living a quiet life
- 移住 いじゅう migration; move
- 永住 えいじゅう permanent residence
- 居住 きょじゅう residence; living (at, in)
- 在住 ざいじゅう residing; living
- 住む すむ to live (of humans); to reside
- 住所 じゅうしょ address (of a home, business, etc.); residence
- 住職 じゅうしょく chief priest (of a Buddhist temple); abbot
Reference
- Strokes
- 7
- Kangxi radical
- 9
- Formation type
- Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
- Grade
- Grade 3 (Kyōiku)
- Frequency rank
- #270 (newspapers)
- Former JLPT
- level 3
- Unicode
- U+04F4F