住すまい

す

ま

い

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

Refers to the place where someone lives. In polite or formal questions such as お住まい, it can also mean someone's residence or address.

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉に住すまいを構かまえるto set up one's home in a place
彼かれは京きょう都とに住すまいを構かまえた。
He set up his home in Kyoto.
住すまいを探さがすto look for a place to live
新あたらしい住すまいを探さがしている。
I'm looking for a new place to live.
お住すまいはどちらですかa polite way to ask where someone lives
失しつ礼れいですが、お住すまいはどちらですか。
Excuse me, but where do you live?

Kanji

住dwell, reside, live
居reside, to be, exist

Related words

住じゅう居きょN2sense 1
住居 is a more formal, bureaucratic word for a dwelling, while 住まい carries a softer, more descriptive nuance about where one lives.
家いえN5sense 1
家 is the everyday word for a house or home, while 住まい sounds slightly more formal or literary when referring to one's residence.
住じゅう所しょN5sense 1
住所 specifically means a mailing address, whereas 住まい more broadly refers to the place one lives and only sometimes implies an address.
住じゅうN1
住まい is the ordinary standalone word for one's home or dwelling, while 住 is a compact kanji element used mainly in compounds and set phrases.

Counted with

軒けんN4
Used for houses and other dwellings; for an abstract sense of 'address' or 'residence' as a concept, no counter is natural.

Word family· 8

仮かり住ずまい
temporary residence; temporary housing
一人ひとり住ずまいN2
living alone; living by oneself
住すまい手て
resident; tenant; occupant
居い住ずまい
seating posture; way one sits

Written forms

住すまいUsage95%
Standard common spelling for the noun meaning a dwelling, residence, or way of living.
住すまいUsage4%
Less common spelling with reduced okurigana; useful to recognize but not the safest learner spelling.
すまいUsage1%
住居すまいUsage<1%
ateji (phonetic kanji usage)
Ateji reading for すまい. The same spelling is normally read じゅうきょ, so use 住まい in ordinary writing.

Etymology

Related to 住む and 住まう, meaning to live or reside. The spelling 住まい conventionally connects the noun with residence or living; the exact historical development is not specified.

町まち住ずまい

urban life; city living

Show 3 more

借かり住ずまい
rented house; living in a rented place
借しゃく家や住ずまい
living in rented quarters; renting a house
団だん地ち住ずまい
living in a housing complex