租房 literally means 'rent + house/apartment' and functions as a verb meaning 'to rent a place to live'. The character 租 (zū) means 'to rent' or 'to lease', while 房 (fáng) means 'room', 'house', or 'apartment'. Together, they specifically refer to renting residential accommodation—not offices or shops—making it distinct from general leasing terms like 租用 (zūyòng). It’s commonly used in urban daily life, especially among students, young professionals, and newcomers to a city.

This verb is often followed by location phrases (e.g., 在北京租房), duration (e.g., 租一年), or modifiers indicating type or cost (e.g., 合租一套房, 租便宜的房子). Unlike some verbs, 租房 is typically not used in the potential form (*租得房* is unnatural); instead, people say 找到房子 or 顺利租到房子. It can also function as a noun in contexts like 我的租房经历 ('my experience renting housing').