泊まる

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 泊まる, read とまる, means spending the night in lodging or someone else’s home.
• Basic usage: It is used for staying at a hotel or sleeping over at a friend’s house.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The same reading as 止まる
  • 泊まる concerns overnight lodging; 止まる concerns stopping movement or operation. ホテルに泊まる and 車が止まる both use the reading とまる, but describe different actions.