下宿
げしゅく · geshuku · JLPT N4 · noun
housing
🏠🛏️ 下宿 = below (下) + lodge (宿): lodging under someone else's roof
下 means below or under, read ge here; 宿 means lodge or inn, read shuku. A boarder lodges under the landlord's roof, often in a rented room with meals included. Same 宿 as in 宿題 (homework) and 宿泊 (staying overnight).
下 — horizontal line 一 + mark below
下 is an indicative character: a long horizontal line represents a reference level, and a shorter stroke placed beneath it points to the area below. The original meaning 'below, down' comes directly from this spatial diagram, and it later extended to verbs like 'descend' and 'lower'.