住处
zhùchù · HSK 7
residence
🏠 住处 = 住 (to live/reside) + 处 (place) = the place where you live
住 — person radical 亻 + 主 (master/zhǔ, phonetic)
住 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 亻 (person) gives the meaning—something a person does—while 主 supplies the sound, originally 'zhǔ' (master, a lamp standing in place). Together they suggest a person staying put, yielding the senses 'to live, dwell, reside, stop'.
处 — 夂 (foot) + 几 (low table/stool)
Originally depicted a person stopping (夂, an inverted foot) beside a stool (几), suggesting someone settling down in a place. From 'to dwell/stay' the meaning broadened to 'place, location' (chù) and 'to handle, deal with' (chǔ). The simplified form drops the older 虍 top found in 處.