余所
よそ · yoso · JLPT N2 · noun
stead
🧭 余 (spare, other) + 所 (place) = the other place, somewhere else
余 means surplus or remaining, so 余所 is a place left over from where you are. It covers 'elsewhere' and 'strange parts'. You will see it in よそ者, meaning an outsider.
余 — roof 亼 + wooden post/pillar
Originally a pictograph of a simple thatched shelter or hut supported by a central post, 余 meant 'lodging' or 'temporary dwelling.' It was later borrowed phonetically to write the first-person pronoun 'I/me,' which became its dominant meaning. The 'surplus/remainder' sense developed through its use as a loan for 餘.
所 — door 戶 (left) + axe 斤 (right)
Originally a sound: an axe (斤) chopping wood near a door (戶), with 戶 also hinting at the pronunciation. Over time it was borrowed to mean 'place' or 'location,' and later became a grammatical particle nominalizing verbs ('that which…'). The concrete 'chopping' sense faded entirely.