居

Core sense is occupancy and stability, ranging from physical habitation to the maintenance of a state or position:

• Physical Occupancy: To dwell, reside, or live; to stay put, remain stationary, or refuse to move.
• Posture/State: The act of sitting or maintaining a specific physical posture.
• Social/Official Standing: To occupy a rank, hold a professional position, or fill a role.
• Abstract Abidance: To abide by a principle or remain in a particular mental or spiritual state.
• Withdrawal: A deliberate choice to remain in private life rather than entering officialdom or a monastic order (e.g., 居士).

Predominantly intransitive. It typically requires a preposition (most commonly 於) to introduce location. In concise or early styles, the preposition may be omitted; when 居 appears directly before a location, it may function as a verb of state or imply the missing preposition.

• vs. 住 (zhù): While both involve staying, 住 emphasizes the act of stopping or settling (the transition from motion to stillness), whereas 居 emphasizes duration and stability.
• vs. 處 (chǔ): 處 often refers to a specific spot, a point of location, or the "handling" of a situation; 居 is concerned with the state of habitation.
• vs. 止 (zhǐ): 止 denotes the cessation of movement; 居 denotes the state of being present in a space.

// Readings: Tang-period reading //giu*.

• Variants: U+3790 is a graphical variant with no shift in meaning.

The connection to sitting or physical posture is linked to the 尸 radical.