About
留 is a phonosemantic compound, built from 田 (tián, 'field') as the semantic component and 卯 (mǎo) as the phonetic. Its core meaning has always been to stay or remain in one place, and from this it developed the extended sense of detaining or holding something back to prevent movement or departure. This central notion of keeping or retaining applies equally to concrete things, saving an item for later, and abstract ones, such as retaining information or asking someone to postpone their leaving. The character thus spans a range of related ideas, including to stay, to detain, to keep, and to delay.
Example Sentences Hide
我留在学校学习。
请留下你的名字。
他决定留学美国。
我们保留这个座位。
她在北京停留了三天。
我留恋家乡的风景。
请留意明天的天气变化。
为了保留传统，他们留下了许多古老的建筑。
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