源etymfun
About

Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

所

suǒ
place; location
  • Phono-semantic compound 形聲
  • HSK 6
  • TOCFL 5
  • radical 戶
  • 8 strokes

Etymology graph

  • inherited
  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
  • related
React Flow
Press enter or space to select a node. You can then use the arrow keys to move the node around. Press delete to remove it and escape to cancel.
Press enter or space to select an edge. You can then press delete to remove it or escape to cancel.

點擊節點放大 · Click a node to zoom in

Origin

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *sqʰraʔ): phonetic 戶 (OC *ɡʷaːʔ) + semantic 斤 (“axe”) – the sound of logging (the definition given in Shuowen).

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s/k-ra (“place”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2007). Cognate with Burmese ရာ (ra, “place”).

Baxter and Sagart (2014) relates it to 處 (OC *t.qʰaʔ, “to be at”), 處 (OC *t.qʰaʔ-s, “place”), 許 (OC *qʰ(r)aʔ, “place”).

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • inheritedProto-Sino-Tibetan*s/k-ra “place”
  • soundChinese戶 “door”
  • meaningChinese斤 “catty or jin, a traditional unit of weight, equal to 0.5 kilograms”

Related: Burmese ရာ

Words built on it: 所以, 所有, 研究所, 所在

Meanings

character
  1. place; location
  2. establishment for a particular function; institution
  3. Classifier for buildings, schools, hospitals, etc. ⇒ all nouns using this classifier
  4. Prefix attached to verbs to form noun phrases, indicating the patient of the verb, similar to a passive participle.
  5. Used with 為／为 (wéi) or 被 (bèi) to form the passive voice.
  6. about; approximately; around (placed after 十 (cha̍p))

Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字

所：伐木聲也。从斤戶聲。《詩》曰：“伐木所所。”

Xu Shen, c. 100 CE — the first analytical dictionary of Chinese characters.

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 地方。 例：場所、住所、處所
  2. 機關或機構的名稱。 例：區公所、派出所、研究所
  3. 助詞。放在動詞前面，有代詞的作用，表示動作達到的事物。 例：前所未聞、有所不為、無所事事
  4. 大約、左右、上下。 例：父去里所，後還。（《史記．卷五十五．留侯世家》）
  5. 量詞。計算建築物的單位。 例：一所房子、三所學校

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

How 所 was written 字形演變

  1. 所 in Bronze script
    Bronze
    金文
    Shang–Zhou
  2. 所 in Chu slips & silk script
    Chu slips & silk
    楚系簡帛
    Warring States
  3. 所 in Small seal script
    Small seal
    說文小篆
    Shuowen, c. 100 CE
  4. 所 in Regular script
    Regular
    楷書
    since c. 200 CE

Historical forms collected by the legacy etymfun dataset; most characters have several attested variants.

Sources

  • Historical glyph forms (zdic.net 字形演变) — Rights unverified
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • 說文解字 Shuowen Jiezi (Xu Shen, c. 100 CE) — Public domain
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 所