驻 (zhù): to station; to be posted (milit…

Meanings

1 to station; to be posted (military/diplomatic)
2 to halt; to stay

Characters

驻

zhù

to halt; to be stationed

Examples

中国驻美国大使馆

Zhōngguó zhùměi guó dàshǐguǎn

Chinese Embassy in the United States

部队驻扎在这个城市。

Bùduì zhùzhā zài zhège chéngshì.

The troops are stationed in this city.

他是驻外记者。

Tā shì zhùwài jìzhě.

He is a foreign correspondent.

联合国驻华代表来访。

Liánhéguó zhùhuá dàibiǎo láifǎng.

The UN representative in China came to visit.

Tips

usage

驻 is used for official/military stationing: 驻扎 (to station troops), 驻华 (stationed in China), 驻外 (stationed abroad). The pattern 驻 + country is used for embassies and diplomatic posts.

Components

radical

马 mǎ

horse

马 on the left is the horse radical, simplified from a flowing four-leg pictograph. It contributes the sense of mounted forces; 驻 originally pictured cavalry halting and pitching camp, hence the modern senses of stationing and being garrisoned.

phonetic

主 zhǔ

host; master

主 supplies the reading, shifting tone from zhǔ to zhù. The same phonetic surfaces in 住 (live), 注 (pour into), and 柱 (pillar), all touching on the idea of fixing something in place. Compare 住 — a person fixed in a dwelling, and 驻 — horses fixed at a post.