JU -4

('ju' in the fourth tone)

Some 90 standard Chinese characters have a 'ju' pronunciation. Major sound-indicating components of more complicated 'ju' characters are: 句 (10 occurences), 居 (8), 局 (6), 具 (6)

Please be aware that after 'j', the 'u' is always pronounced like the German umlaut 'ue'.

具 = ju(4) = tool, to possess

For the meaning 'to possess', the following two-character version achieves a higher degree of clarity:

具有 = ju(4)you(3) = to possess

There are more than one hundred standard Chinese words, consisting of two, three, or four characters, and always ending with the character 具, which all name tools or instruments. Just some examples:

工具 = gong(1)ju(4) = tools

文具 = wen(2)ju(4) = stationary

Signboad of a Chinese stationary shop

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家具 = jia(1)ju(4) = furniture

Nowadays, many Chinese furniture shops, especially large ones, no longer use 家具, but a new word to identify themselves, 家居. I have not seen it in a single dictionary, neither print nor electronic.

家居 = jia(1)ju(1) = suggested translation: home living / an old meaning is: to be unemployed

居 = ju(1) =to dwell

Home living' instead of 'furniture' on a signboard of a furniture mall

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用具 = yong(4)ju(4) = utensil

玩具 = wan(2)ju(4) = toy

皮具 = pi(2)ju(4) = leatherware

Chinese shop signboard for leatherware - piju

The use of 具 for goods made from leather  is an exception to how 具 is normally used. Usually, it denotes instruments, not products. However, 皮具 is a standard term (though many dictionaries do not list it).

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据 = ju(4) = according to

Character composition:

To the left is the hand radical 扌. To the right is 居, which by itself is spoken ju(1) and has the meaning 'to reside'. It is also the significant part of:

剧 = ju(4) = drama

收据 = shou(1)ju(4) = receipt

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剧 = ju(4) = drama