<blockquote>
  <p><strong>住</strong> <a href="http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/668/" rel="nofollow">http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/668/</a></p>
  
  <p>[1] [v] live; reside; stay; dwell; inhabit [2] stop; cease</p>
</blockquote>

<p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>居</strong></p>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/1017/" rel="nofollow">http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/1017/</a></p>
  
  <p>[1] [v] to live at, dwell, reside, inhabit, occupy, abode
  [2] [n] a residence, an house, dwelling </p>
</blockquote>

<p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>居住</strong></p>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/4174/" rel="nofollow">http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/4174/</a></p>
  
  <p>to reside; to live (at some place) | [粵]: 住</p>
</blockquote>

<ul>
<li>住 is a verb for "to live (in); to reside (at) "</li>
<li>居 is mainly a noun for " a residence, an house, dwelling" </li>
</ul>

<p>Since the meaning of " to live / to reside " has a dedicated verb 住 , and 居 as a verb, has other meanings (for example: occupy) , few people would use 居 for the meaning of 住 , except in instances that literal style of reading is preferred. </p>

<p>You can think of 居 is more literal and 住 is more colloquial when it comes to using a verb for "to live ; to reside"</p>

<p>Some example sentences:</p>

<p>他現在<strong>住在</strong>美國 (he currently <strong>resides in</strong> America)</p>

<p>他現<strong>居於</strong>美國 (he currently <strong>resides in</strong> America)</p>

<p>他現在在美國<strong>居住</strong> (he currently <strong>resides in</strong> America)</p>

<p>*unlike 住 or 居, which is placed before the object , 居住 is placed after the object.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-09T19:05:24.097Z
Is there a difference between using both 居住 as opposed to just using 住 in a sentence? E.g. 她住在伦敦 versus 她在伦敦居住
MuchAppreciated25
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-09T19:13:05.060Z
@MuchAppreciated25 '居住' is more specific, implies 'her home' is in London. 住  is more general, her home may or may not be in London. In general, compound words are more specific than their single character words counterparts
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T15:20:47.613Z
2016-10-06T15:45:24.347Z
2016-10-06T15:45:24.347Z
Tang Ho
<p>I don't have enough points to comment yet, but 居住 can be used before the object. </p>

<p>他居住在美国 is both acceptable and correct. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>住 means live</p></li>
<li><p>居住 also means live but contains the meaning of stay (the period is longer than 住), and can imply "have a life there", such as set up a home. Even it doesn't have to be permanent, the length of time cannot be very short. Here are some examples:</p></li>
</ol>

<blockquote>
  <p>a. You <strong>can</strong> <strong>say</strong> my friend is going to live with me/ in my house for
  3 days：我朋友要在我家<strong>住</strong>三天。You <strong>cannot</strong> <strong>say</strong> 我朋友要在我家<strong>居住</strong>三天。This is because 3 days is a short period of time.</p>
  
  <p>b. You <strong>can</strong> <strong>say</strong> you lived in a hotel for 3 days: 我在旅馆里<strong>住</strong>了三天。You <strong>cannot use 居住</strong> in this case (lived in a hotel for 3 days) because you only live there
  temporarily and it doesn't require you to set up a home.</p>
  
  <p>c. You <strong>can</strong> say 他<strong>居住</strong>在美国三年了。 As 3 years is a relatively long period and it requires you to set up a home of some kind to live in a city/country for this long. 居住 is more appropriate in this case. </p>
</blockquote>

<ol start="3">
<li>居/居于 is more literary, is rarely used in spoken language. </li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T23:21:36.900Z
in "他居住在美国 " 居 is redundant. If you write "他居住於美國" then 住 is also redundant.  居住 only sounds right after the object.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T23:24:49.677Z
As I mentioned, this implies he lives in America and it is not for a short period of time, it is unlikely to be used in spoken language though.
EXL
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T23:31:58.720Z
*it is unlikely to be used in spoken language though* -- so you agree most people don't  talk like that in real life.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T23:50:49.987Z
I think you edited your comment, yes, people don't talk like that.
EXL
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T23:53:49.323Z
居住于 is wrong is because people don't use 于 after 居住，you can say 住 is redundant here because 居于 is correct. But 居住在 is correct.
EXL
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-07T16:31:44.907Z
居于 bkrs：1) be (in a certain position)
2) occupy (a certain position) e。g。居于人下，汝士大夫之师，而乃居于奴！汝士大夫之师，而乃居于奴！居于领导地位, also occurs in the sense of live in (a particular region) (but apparently not in the sense of at a particular address):
居于旷林，故姓之奸居于瓜州
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-08T21:04:09.597Z
@user6065 I thought we were talking about Modern Chinese.
EXL
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-08T22:00:17.680Z
any contradiction？居住，居住在 can be used for living in a region, neighborhood, building, flat etc., bkrs entry for 居于 is confirmed by e.g. iciba, dict.cn, etc. all at least having "occupy" in common (bkrs may include less modern examples), cannot find any examples
with 居于 + particular address like  居于帕姆街253 号3-G 室 which seems uncommon, although probably not wrong, for "live at the White House" 白宫,美国总统官邸 (or 10 Downing Street唐宁街10号,英国首相官邸) 居于白宫 is
not unexpected e.g. 两人的妻子在居于白宫期间都有流产的经验(http://m.shzxgov.com/view-599887.html)
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-09T22:22:55.430Z
@user6065 Not really, thanks for sharing, it's just the person who asked question may not understand classical Chinese. But for us, it's good to know!
EXL
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-12T14:28:34.863Z
concerning ＂居住于 is wrong＂ of comment #5, s.rfa article 北京中央军委再现大集访 12省市数千老兵维权 http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/xl1-10112016101509.html has 但农村和居住于山区的.
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T21:57:18.280Z
2016-10-07T00:52:56.427Z
2016-10-07T00:52:56.427Z
EXL
<p><strong>住</strong>and<strong>居</strong> are interchangeable, and they can also be used together, with slightly different in meaning.</p>

<p><strong>住</strong>者<strong>人主</strong>也**。 人 means human, person; 主 means occupy, owner.
Thus <strong>住</strong> essentially means living in some place for a relative short term.</p>

<p><strong>居</strong>者<strong>尸古</strong>也**。 尸 means corpse, dead body; 古 means ancient, old or long period of time here.
Thus <strong>居</strong> essentially means living in some place too, but for a long term because ever after you are dead, ie, becoming a <strong>尸</strong> corpse, your soul will still live in that place for a long period of time.</p>

<p>Example: </p>

<ul>
<li>中国人来美国定<strong>居</strong>。 Chinese come to America to live there for a long time.</li>
<li>你妈<strong>住</strong>在酒店。 Your mom is living in a hotel. (Probably short term)</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-07T02:25:14.450Z
In view of e.g. comment #1 it appears doubtful that 住
is interchangeable with 居 (used in well established compounds and 成语s 安～乐业｜深～简出),testing whether 住 in 住在亚洲／中国／北京／XX省XX市XX区XX镇XX村XX街XX号 can be replaced by 居, try feeding e.g. 居 街 号 to jukuu-> 13 examples none of which contains 居, however there are several of the type 住在史密斯街12 号, now if instead 住 街 号 is fed there are 6 examples 5 of which all are of this type (住在帕姆街253 号3-G 室 another such)
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-07T01:28:11.477Z
2016-10-07T01:28:11.477Z
Atmega 328
<p>I wanted to know what's the exact difference between 住 and 居.</p>
<p>Since these characters mean the same thing, why can't I convince them together into one word meaning &quot;to live&quot;?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T14:45:41.950Z
*why can't I convince them together into one word meaning "to live"?*  It already exist, "居住" means " to live"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-06T17:04:51.137Z
**live at** ： **住在** ， **住**  (eg 我住上面的套间)， **家住**  (eg弗洛伦斯-塞福顿,77岁, 家住北威尔士的迪根维。。。lives in Deganwy, North Wales)，  **居**  :＂汉语水平考试词典＂［义１］住（reside,live):各～｜侨～｜群～｜同～｜移～｜安～乐业｜深～简出｜他俩感情不好，已经分～｜毕业后，她在国外～留了四年。  **居住**  ［义１］较长期地住在一个地方（reside,live):～权｜他家一直～在农村｜在这里已～很长时间了。（search site for previous discussions of 住，住在）
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-07T16:08:29.470Z
according to dictionaries 居 only occurs in established compounds (including 成语）, thus a difference with 住 seems to be that it should be considered a bound morpheme unlike 住 which clearly is a free morpheme
user6065
<difference><verbs>
What's the exact difference between 住 and 居?
# What's the exact difference between 住 and 居?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-10-06)

I wanted to know what's the exact difference between 住 and 居.

Since these characters mean the same thing, why can't I convince them together into one word meaning "to live"?

Thanks.

**Tags:** difference, verbs

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: *why can't I convince them together into one word meaning "to live"?*  It already exist, "居住" means " to live"  
> **username_2**: **live at** ： **住在** ， **住**  (eg 我住上面的套间)， **家住**  (eg弗洛伦斯-塞福顿,77岁, 家住北威尔士的迪根维。。。lives in Deganwy, North Wales)，  **居**  :＂汉语水平考试词典＂［义１］住（reside,live):各～｜侨～｜群～｜同～｜移～｜安～乐业｜深～简出｜他俩感情不好，已经分～｜毕业后，她在国外～留了四年。  **居住**  ［义１］较长期地住在一个地方（reside,live):～权｜他家一直～在农村｜在这里已～很长时间了。（search site for previous discussions of 住，住在）  
> **username_2**: according to dictionaries 居 only occurs in established compounds (including 成语）, thus a difference with 住 seems to be that it should be considered a bound morpheme unlike 住 which clearly is a free morpheme  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-10-06. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

> **住** <http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/668/>
>
> [1] [v] live; reside; stay; dwell; inhabit [2] stop; cease

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> **居**
>
> <http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/1017/>
>
> [1] [v] to live at, dwell, reside, inhabit, occupy, abode
> [2] [n] a residence, an house, dwelling

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

> **居住**
>
> <http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/words/4174/>
>
> to reside; to live (at some place) | [粵]: 住

* 住 is a verb for "to live (in); to reside (at) "
* 居 is mainly a noun for " a residence, an house, dwelling"

Since the meaning of " to live / to reside " has a dedicated verb 住 , and 居 as a verb, has other meanings (for example: occupy) , few people would use 居 for the meaning of 住 , except in instances that literal style of reading is preferred.

You can think of 居 is more literal and 住 is more colloquial when it comes to using a verb for "to live ; to reside"

Some example sentences:

他現在**住在**美國 (he currently **resides in** America)

他現**居於**美國 (he currently **resides in** America)

他現在在美國**居住** (he currently **resides in** America)

\*unlike 住 or 居, which is placed before the object , 居住 is placed after the object.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Is there a difference between using both 居住 as opposed to just using 住 in a sentence? E.g. 她住在伦敦 versus 她在伦敦居住  
> **username_1**: @username_3 '居住' is more specific, implies 'her home' is in London. 住  is more general, her home may or may not be in London. In general, compound words are more specific than their single character words counterparts  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-10-06. Score: 2

I don't have enough points to comment yet, but 居住 can be used before the object.

他居住在美国 is both acceptable and correct.

1. 住 means live
2. 居住 also means live but contains the meaning of stay (the period is longer than 住), and can imply "have a life there", such as set up a home. Even it doesn't have to be permanent, the length of time cannot be very short. Here are some examples:

> a. You **can** **say** my friend is going to live with me/ in my house for
> 3 days：我朋友要在我家**住**三天。You **cannot** **say** 我朋友要在我家**居住**三天。This is because 3 days is a short period of time.
>
> b. You **can** **say** you lived in a hotel for 3 days: 我在旅馆里**住**了三天。You **cannot use 居住** in this case (lived in a hotel for 3 days) because you only live there
> temporarily and it doesn't require you to set up a home.
>
> c. You **can** say 他**居住**在美国三年了。 As 3 years is a relatively long period and it requires you to set up a home of some kind to live in a city/country for this long. 居住 is more appropriate in this case.

3. 居/居于 is more literary, is rarely used in spoken language.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: in "他居住在美国 " 居 is redundant. If you write "他居住於美國" then 住 is also redundant.  居住 only sounds right after the object.  
> **username_4**: As I mentioned, this implies he lives in America and it is not for a short period of time, it is unlikely to be used in spoken language though.  
> **username_1**: *it is unlikely to be used in spoken language though* -- so you agree most people don't  talk like that in real life.  
> **username_4**: I think you edited your comment, yes, people don't talk like that.  
> **username_4**: 居住于 is wrong is because people don't use 于 after 居住，you can say 住 is redundant here because 居于 is correct. But 居住在 is correct.  
> **username_2**: 居于 bkrs：1) be (in a certain position) 2) occupy (a certain position) e。g。居于人下，汝士大夫之师，而乃居于奴！汝士大夫之师，而乃居于奴！居于领导地位, also occurs in the sense of live in (a particular region) (but apparently not in the sense of at a particular address): 居于旷林，故姓之奸居于瓜州  
> **username_4**: @username_2 I thought we were talking about Modern Chinese.  
> **username_2**: any contradiction？居住，居住在 can be used for living in a region, neighborhood, building, flat etc., bkrs entry for 居于 is confirmed by e.g. iciba, dict.cn, etc. all at least having "occupy" in common (bkrs may include less modern examples), cannot find any examples with 居于 + particular address like  居于帕姆街253 号3-G 室 which seems uncommon, although probably not wrong, for "live at the White House" 白宫,美国总统官邸 (or 10 Downing Street唐宁街10号,英国首相官邸) 居于白宫 is not unexpected e.g. 两人的妻子在居于白宫期间都有流产的经验(http://m.shzxgov.com/view-599887.html)  
> **username_4**: @username_2 Not really, thanks for sharing, it's just the person who asked question may not understand classical Chinese. But for us, it's good to know!  
> **username_2**: concerning ＂居住于 is wrong＂ of comment #5, s.rfa article 北京中央军委再现大集访 12省市数千老兵维权 http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/xl1-10112016101509.html has 但农村和居住于山区的.  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2016-10-07. Score: 0

**住**and**居** are interchangeable, and they can also be used together, with slightly different in meaning.

**住**者**人主**也\*\*。 人 means human, person; 主 means occupy, owner.
Thus **住** essentially means living in some place for a relative short term.

**居**者**尸古**也\*\*。 尸 means corpse, dead body; 古 means ancient, old or long period of time here.
Thus **居** essentially means living in some place too, but for a long term because ever after you are dead, ie, becoming a **尸** corpse, your soul will still live in that place for a long period of time.

Example:

* 中国人来美国定**居**。 Chinese come to America to live there for a long time.
* 你妈**住**在酒店。 Your mom is living in a hotel. (Probably short term)

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: In view of e.g. comment #1 it appears doubtful that 住 is interchangeable with 居 (used in well established compounds and 成语s 安～乐业｜深～简出),testing whether 住 in 住在亚洲／中国／北京／XX省XX市XX区XX镇XX村XX街XX号 can be replaced by 居, try feeding e.g. 居 街 号 to jukuu-> 13 examples none of which contains 居, however there are several of the type 住在史密斯街12 号, now if instead 住 街 号 is fed there are 6 examples 5 of which all are of this type (住在帕姆街253 号3-G 室 another such)  

---

