所 (suǒ): actually, place, classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc
所 (suǒ) is a Chinese character meaning “actually.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 户 (structural) and 斤 (structural). It ranks #54 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 所 an axe 斤 swung at a door 户. Its radical form 户 (door) appears in many related characters such as 房 (fáng, house), 户 (hù, a household), 扇 (shān, to fan).
Definitions
- actually
- place
- classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc
Etymology & Origin
ideographicAn axe 斤 swung at a door 户
Decomposition: ⿰户斤 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 所 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 所
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 所以conjunction | suǒ yǐ | therefore | 2 |
| 所有adjective/verb/noun | suǒ yǒu | all | 4 |
| 厕所noun | cè suǒ | toilet | 4 |
| 无所谓verb | wú suǒ wèi | to be indifferent | 6 |
| 之所以conjunction | zhī suǒ yǐ | (after a noun N and before a predicate P) the reason why N P | 6 |
| 场所noun | chǎng suǒ | location | 5 |
| 众所周知 | zhòng suǒ zhōu zhī | (idiom) as everyone knows | 6 |
| 派出所noun | pài chū suǒ | local police station | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 有所 | yǒu suǒ | somewhat |
| 所谓 | suǒ wèi | what is meant by the expression ... |
| 事务所 | shì wù suǒ | business office |
| 所在 | suǒ zài | place |
| 诊所 | zhěn suǒ | clinic |
| 住所 | zhù suǒ | habitation |
| 避难所 | bì nàn suǒ | a refuge |
| 不知所措 | bù zhī suǒ cuò | not knowing what to do (idiom) |
| 拘留所 | jū liú suǒ | detention center |
| 收容所 | shōu róng suǒ | temporary shelter |
| 戒毒所 | jiè dú suǒ | drug rehabilitation center |
| 庇护所 | bì hù suǒ | shelter |
| 托儿所 | tuō ér suǒ | nursery |
| 研究所 | yán jiū suǒ | research institute |
| 所在地 | suǒ zài dì | location |
所 appears in 100 compound words: 34 as the first character, 52 as the last, and 14 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 所 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (52)
to follow what one's heart desires; to do as one likes; to act at one's pleasure; seventy years old
Showing 12 of 52 idioms containing 所.
Example Sentences
他在研究所工作，主要从事人工智能方面的研究。
Tā zài yánjiūsuǒ gōngzuò, zhǔyào cóngshì réngōng zhìnéng fāngmiàn de yánjiū.
He works at a research institute, mainly engaged in artificial intelligence research.
格陵兰岛自治政府总理称无意接收特朗普所称派往当地的医疗船
gé líng lán dǎo zì zhì zhèng fǔ zǒng lǐ chèn wú yì jiē shōu tè lǎng pǔ suǒ chèn pài wǎng dāng dì de yī liáo chuán
The prime minister of Greenland's autonomous government said he had no intention of receiving the medical ship that Trump said was sent to the area
擅闯特朗普住所海湖庄园警戒线男子被击毙 白宫指特勤局果...
shàn chuǎng tè lǎng pǔ zhù suǒ hǎi hú zhuāng yuán jǐng jiè xiàn nán zǐ bèi jī bì bái gōng zhǐ tè qín jú guǒ . . .
A man who trespassed on the cordon of Mar-a-Lago at Trump's residence was killed White House accuses the Secret Service of fruit...
葡萄牙房地产发展势头不减,但步伐有所改变
pú táo yá fáng dì chǎn fā zhǎn shì tóu bù jiǎn , dàn bù fá yǒu suǒ gǎi biàn
Portuguese real estate is gaining momentum, but the pace has changed
洲际交易所伦敦可可期货下跌近6%,至每吨2328英...
zhōu jì jiāo yì suǒ lún dūn kě kě qī huò xià diē jìn , zhì měi dūn yīng . . .
London cocoa futures on the Intercontinental Exchange fell nearly 6 percent to 2,328 British pounds a ton...
...初一暖心事!流浪28年,盐城阜宁东站派出所助流..
. . . chū yī nuǎn xīn shì ! liú làng nián , yán chéng 阜 nìng dōng zhàn pā chū suǒ zhù liú . .
... The first day of the year! After 28 years of wandering, the Yancheng Funing East Station Police Station helped the...
请问这儿附近有没有厕所？
Qǐngwèn zhèr fùjìn yǒuméiyǒu cèsuǒ?
Excuse me, is there a toilet nearby?
为什么你花了所有钱？
Wèishénme nǐ huā le suǒyǒu qián?
Why did you use up all the money?
对不起，附近有厕所吗？
Duìbuqǐ, fùjìn yǒu cèsuǒ ma?
Can you tell me where the restrooms are?
你是这所学校的学生吗？
Nǐ shì zhè suǒ xuéxiào de xuésheng ma?
Are you students at this school?
Character Family
户 Radical Family — Characters sharing the door radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 所 (suǒ) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 所 and 大?
How many strokes does 所 have?
What is the radical of 所?
What are the components of 所?
What are common words containing 所?
What characters sound the same as 所 (suǒ)?
Is 所 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 所 with real-time feedback
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