Resultative 住: Fixing in Place | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

On its own, 住 (zhù) is the verb "to live, to stay" (我住在北京, "I live in Beijing"). As a resultative complement its meaning is bleached down to the core of "staying": it says the action results in something being held fast, made firm, or brought to a standstill. 记 (jì) is "to note"; 记住 (jì zhù) is to note something and have it stay — to commit it to memory. 站 (zhàn) is "to stand"; 站住 (zhàn zhù) is to stand and stay put — to halt. Once you hear 住 as "and it stays," a whole family of verbs opens up.

住 = the result is secured or stationary

Add 住 when the action's outcome is that something is fixed in place, gripped, stopped, or retained. The main verb tells you how — grab, stand, stop, block, note — and 住 tells you it held.

Verb + 住	Pinyin	Meaning
记住	jì zhù	commit to memory (and keep it)
站住	zhàn zhù	halt, stop where you stand
抓住	zhuā zhù	grab hold of, seize
停住	tíng zhù	come to a stop
拿住	ná zhù	hold firmly, grip
接住	jiē zhù	catch (and hold)
挡住	dǎng zhù	block, obstruct
忍住	rěn zhù	hold back, restrain (a feeling)

请记住我的电话号码。

qǐng jì zhù wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ

Please memorize my phone number. (neutral) — 记住 = note it and keep it.

站住！别跑！

zhàn zhù! bié pǎo!

Stop right there! Don't run! (informal) — 站住 = come to a standstill on the spot.

他一把抓住了我的胳膊。

tā yì bǎ zhuā zhù le wǒ de gēbo

He grabbed my arm. (informal) — 抓住 = seized it and held on.

💡

Read 住 as "…and it stays / holds." 记住 = remember and it stays; 停住 = stop and stay stopped; 挡住 = block and it stays blocked. That one gloss predicts almost every 住 compound you'll meet.

The retention sense: 记住 and holding on

The most frequent 住 verb for learners is 记住, so it deserves its own note. English "remember" hides a distinction Chinese makes with three different words: the act of retaining (记住), the state of currently recalling (记得, jìde), and jotting down on paper (记下, jì xià). Keep them apart — mixing them up is the classic 住 error.

这个单词我怎么也记不住。

zhège dāncí wǒ zěnme yě jì bu zhù

I just can't get this word to stick, no matter what. (informal) — 记不住 is the potential form: unable to retain.

你说的我都记住了，放心吧。

nǐ shuō de wǒ dōu jì zhù le, fàngxīn ba

I've got everything you said memorized, don't worry. (informal) — 记住了 = it's locked in.

我实在忍不住笑了出来。

wǒ shízài rěn bu zhù xiào le chūlái

I really couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. (informal) — 忍不住 = unable to keep it in.

The retention idea extends naturally to holding a physical grip or a moving thing in place:

出租车在门口停住了。

chūzūchē zài ménkǒu tíng zhù le

The taxi came to a stop at the entrance. (neutral) — 停住 = halted and held there.

快接住，别让它掉下去！

kuài jiē zhù, bié ràng tā diào xiàqù!

Catch it, quick — don't let it drop! (informal) — 接住 = catch and keep hold of it.

前面一棵大树挡住了我们的视线。

qiánmiàn yì kē dà shù dǎng zhù le wǒmen de shìxiàn

A big tree up ahead blocked our line of sight. (neutral) — 挡住 = obstructed and stayed in the way.

Negation and the potential form

Like every resultative, 住 is negated with 没 — you're saying the result wasn't reached, so 没记住 = "didn't manage to memorize it." Never use 不 for the plain past sense.

对不起，我没记住你的名字。

duìbuqǐ, wǒ méi jì zhù nǐ de míngzi

Sorry, I didn't catch your name. (neutral) — 没记住 = the retention didn't happen.

Separately, 住 is extremely productive in the potential pattern, where 得/不 is infixed between verb and complement to ask about capacity: 记得住 (jì de zhù, "able to retain") vs 记不住 (jì bu zhù, "unable to retain"), 拿得住 vs 拿不住, 忍得住 vs 忍不住. Don't confuse 没记住 ("didn't memorize it") with 记不住 ("can't possibly memorize it") — one reports an outcome, the other reports an inability. This is covered in full on the potential infix 得/不 page.

这么滑的东西，我根本拿不住。

zhème huá de dōngxi, wǒ gēnběn ná bu zhù

Something this slippery, I simply can't keep a grip on. (informal) — 拿不住 = incapable of holding it fast.

Common Mistakes

1. Confusing 记住 (retain) with 记得 (currently recall). 记住 is the act of locking something in; 记得 is the state of still having it.

❌ 你还记住我吗？

Odd — asking if someone still recalls you needs the state verb 记得, not the retention resultative.

✅ 你还记得我吗？

nǐ hái jìde wǒ ma?

Do you still remember me? (informal) — 记得 for the ongoing state of recall.

2. Negating 住 with 不 for a past event. The unreached result is 没, not 不.

❌ 我不记住他的地址。

Incorrect — reads like a refusal; 'didn't manage to memorize' is 没记住.

✅ 我没记住他的地址。

wǒ méi jì zhù tā de dìzhǐ

I didn't memorize his address. (neutral) — 没 for the outcome that failed to land.

3. Making the potential negative with 没 instead of 不. Capacity ("can't retain") uses the infix 不, giving 记不住.

❌ 我记没住这么多生词。

Incorrect — the potential 'can't' is 记不住, not 记没住.

✅ 我记不住这么多生词。

wǒ jì bu zhù zhème duō shēngcí

I can't memorize this many new words. (informal) — 记不住 for the inability.

4. Splitting 住 from its verb with the object. 住 clings to the verb; the object follows the pair.

❌ 他抓我的手住了。

Incorrect — 手 can't sit between 抓 and 住.

✅ 他抓住了我的手。

tā zhuā zhù le wǒ de shǒu

He grabbed my hand. (informal) — 抓住 stays fused, object after.

Key Takeaways

住 (zhù) as a resultative means the action leaves something held fast, fixed, or stopped: 记住, 站住, 抓住, 停住, 挡住.
Gloss it as "…and it stays": 记住 = note and keep, 停住 = stop and stay, 挡住 = block and stay.
Keep three "remember" words apart: 记住 (retain), 记得 (currently recall), 记下 (jot down).
Negate a past outcome with 没 (没记住); express inability with the potential infix 不 (记不住) — see 得/不 potentials.
The complement fuses to the verb — 抓住 first, then the object.

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