Chapter 2 / Part 5

住 zhù Living

The shūmiànyǔ term for 住 zhù, to live is 居 jū. 居住 Jūzhù --live-live, simply means 'to live.' 居民 Jūmín --living-people, means residents. 同居 tóngjū means two lovers living together without getting married. In China, if you are looking for an apartment, you will ask how many 居室 jūshǐ living-room, bedrooms there are, the popular types of apartment available are 两居室 liǎng jūshǐ or 三居室 sān jūshǐ apartments.

The famous poet 白居易 Bái Jūyì during the Tang dynasty took residence in the capital 长安 Chángān, today's 西安 Xi'an, and was astonished by the high living cost in the city. Thus, he jokingly wrote a verse: 长安居，大不易。 chángān jū, dà búyì, living in Changan city is with great hardship. This verse, formed from his name wisely teased his economic situation as being a poor official.

居 jū can also be used as a noun. Therefore, by reversing the characters 居 jū and 民 mín, residents, we have 民居 mínjū, meaning general public's residence. 居士 jūshì is a name for Buddist who practice Buddism at home. 白居易 Bai Jūyì was also known as 香山居士 Xiāngshān jūshì.

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The word 睡 shuì, to sleep has two common shūmiànyǔ words, one is 眠 mián, the other is 寝 qǐn. Therefore, a compound 睡眠 shuìmián means to sleep when used as a verb or sleep when used as a noun. In the phrase 睡眠不足 shuìmiánbùzú--sleep not enough. The first verse of the famous poem 春晓 chūnxiǎo written by 李白 Lǐbái (a Tang poet) reads: 春眠不觉晓 chūn mián bù jué xiǎo, in the spring time one sleeps well and does not notice the day breaks.

The word 寝 qǐn also means to sleep. Therefore, 寝室 qǐnshì means bedroom. The verb 就寝 jiùqǐn is a formal term for to go to sleep.

失眠 shīmián is a problem for many people, 失 shī, to lose; 眠 mián, sleep. 失眠 shímian means insomnia or being unable to fall asleep. 安眠药 ānmiányào, peaceful-sleep-medicine is used to resolve this problem.

寝室 qǐnshì is a synonym of 卧室 wòshì. If you go to a department store to buy bedding materials. You will go to the 寝具部 qǐnjùbù: sleep-tool-department.

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洗澡 xǐzǎo, to bathe has a shūmiànyǔ word: 沐浴 mùyù. Both 沐 mù and 浴 yù mean to bathe. 海水浴场 Hǎishuǐyùchǎng means 'sea-water-bathe-field' is beach. 浴室 Yùshì means 'bathroom.' So, 浴缸 yùgāng is bathtub and 浴袍 yùpáo is bathrobe.

住 zhù, live	居 jū, reside 居住 jūzhù, reside 居民 jūmín, resident 同居 tóngjū, live together 居室 jūshì, room; house 常安居，大不易 chángānjū, dàbùyì, place with a high cost of living 民居 mínjū, local home 居士 jūshì, retired scholar 香山居士 xiāngshānjūshì, the poet Bái Jūyì
睡 shuì, sleep	眠 mián, sleep 睡眠 shuìmián, sleep 春眠不觉晓 chūnmián bù jué xiǎo, sleeping in the spring, unaware of dawn's arrival 失眠 shīmián, can't sleep/insomnia 安眠药 ānshuìyào, sleeping pills 寝 qǐn, sleep 寝室 qǐnshì, bedroom 就寝 jiùqǐn, go to sleep 寝具部 qǐnjùbù, bedding
洗澡 xǐzǎo, bathe/shower	沐浴 mùyù, bathe 海水浴场 hǎishuǐ yùchǎng, beach 浴室 yùshì, bathroom/shower 浴缸 yùgāng, bathtub 浴袍 yùpáo, bathrobe