居 (jū) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

居

jū[ju1]Tone 1

to reside

HSK 4

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to reside

Cached lesson

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Topology:Semi-enclosure

Strokes:8

Writing Balance Rule: The outer shelter component should arch gracefully over the inner occupant component without crushing it.

1. Meaning

to reside, live, dwell

to be in a certain position or stateto accumulate or store upresidence or housesurname Ju

VerbNeutral#living#location#housing#status

Sample Usage

他居北京。
Tā jū Běijīng.
He resides in Beijing.
居安思危
jū ān sī wēi
to think of danger in times of safety (idiom)

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕy˥˥]/Tone: 55

居

jūju1

¯(55)

=jū

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: j sound as in jeep

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches or comes close to the hard palate.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -v vowel group

Sounds like: ü rhymes with the French u or German ü

Note: Written as 'u', pronounced as rounded 'ü' [y].

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ü'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Maintains a steady, high-pitched monotone similar to a musical pitch at the top of your vocal range.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the rounded vowel ü with the unrounded u, or confusing tone 1 with tone 2.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat horizontal line in front of you, like a singer holding a high note.

3. Writing

Topology: Semi-enclosure · Strokes: 8 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The outer shelter component should arch gracefully over the inner occupant component without crushing it.

4. Components

Radical 尸 · Corpse Radical (body, corpse, or house shelter)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 尸 (represents a building or shelter structure)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 古 (original sound: gǔ / jū phonetic influence)

A person under a roof (尸) who is ancient and steady (古) settles down and resides there.

尸 roof or shelter
古 ancient or sound phonetically

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

26· Phonetic Root: 古 (gǔ)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted a person sitting or resting inside a dwelling, combining the shelter radical with a phonetic element.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from the physical act of sitting or squatting inside a dwelling to the broader concept of residing, occupying a position, or dwelling.

Ancient oracle bone scripts show a human figure hunkered down under a simple structure.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: キョ / Kun: いた.る / お.る

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

거

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You are JÙst sitting inside your house (尸) living an ancient (古) lifestyle of total residency.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

据

jùaccording to, evidenceReplaces the shelter with hand (扌), meaning to hold evidence with your hand.

锯

jùsaw (tool)Replaces the shelter with metal (钅), meaning a metal cutting saw.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

君(jūn)

君 has a horizontal stroke andkou (口) at the bottom, meaning monarch, whereas 居 has 古 at the bottom.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他们全家 [___] 在上海。

Clue: jū

Common Learner Pitfall

Mispronouncing the ü vowel as an English 'oo' sound without rounding the lips forward while pressing the tongue flat.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 居 mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to reside' (jū)?

居jūto reside

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