留 (liú): to stay, to keep
留 (liú) is a Chinese character meaning “to stay, to keep.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 卯 (structural) and 田 (structural). It ranks #554 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Definitions
- to stay, to keep
Stroke Order
Practice writing 留 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 留
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 留下verb | liú xià | to leave behind | 4 |
| 留言verb/noun | liú yán | to leave a message | 5 |
| 保留verb | bǎo liú | to keep | 5 |
| 停留verb | tíng liú | to stay somewhere temporarily | 5 |
| 留学verb | liú xué | to study abroad | 3 |
| 留学生noun | liú xué shēng | student studying abroad | 3 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 留给 | liú gěi | to set aside for |
| 留意verb | liú yì | to be mindful |
| 拘留verb | jū liú | to detain (as a prisoner) |
| 残留verb | cán liú | to remain |
| 留住verb | liú zhù | to ask sb to stay |
| 留心verb | liú xīn | to be careful |
| 收留verb | shōu liú | to offer shelter |
| 拘留所noun | jū liú suǒ | detention center |
| 逗留verb | dòu liú | to stay for a while |
| 留情verb | liú qíng | to relent (to spare sb's feelings) |
| 扣留verb | kòu liú | to detain sb |
| 残留物 | cán liú wù | remnant |
| 留神verb | liú shén | to take care |
| 遗留verb | yí liú | to leave behind |
| 留恋verb | liú liàn | reluctant to leave |
留 appears in 101 compound words: 64 as the first character, 27 as the last, and 9 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 留 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
(lit.) not even chickens and dogs are spared (idiom); (fig.) mass slaughter
Example Sentences
请留下您的联系方式，我们会尽快与您取得联系。
Qǐng liú xià nín de liánxì fāngshì, wǒmen huì jǐnkuài yǔ nín qǔdé liánxì.
Please leave your contact information; we will contact you as soon as possible.
正论:留港消费情已逝 出境外游按年升
zhèng lùn : liú gǎng xiāo fèi qíng yǐ shì chū jìng wài yóu àn nián shēng
Commentary: Consumption in Hong Kong is gone, and outbound travel is increasing year-on-year
... 约20人受困5.5小时 1200游客滞留观景台
. . . yuē 2 0 rén shòu kùn 5 . 5 xiǎo shí 1 2 0 0 yóu kè zhì liú guàn jǐng tái
... About 20 people were trapped for 5.5 hours, and 1,200 tourists were stranded at the observation deck
请停留3秒 为这5位空军勇士献花!今天是万家团...
qǐng tíng liú miǎo wéi zhè wèi kōng jūn yǒng shì xiàn huā ! jīn tiān shì mò jiā tuán . . .
Please stay for 3 seconds to lay flowers for these 5 Air Force warriors! Today is the day of the Vanguard Reunion...
对话滞留俄罗斯“极光村”的中国游客:路两边的冰雪...
duì huà zhì liú é luó sī jí guāng cūn de zhōng guó yóu kè lù liǎng biān de bīng xuě . . .
Conversation with Chinese Tourists Stranded in Russia's "Aurora Village": Ice and Snow Along Both Sides of the Road...
你想留个讯息给他吗？
Nǐ xiǎng liú gè xùnxī gěi tā ma?
Would you like to leave him a message?
你会在这里逗留多久？
Nǐ huì zài zhèlǐ dòuliú duōjiǔ?
How long will you stay here?
汤姆今天要留在家中吗？
Tāngmǔ jīntiān yào liú zài jiā zhōng ma?
Does Tom have to stay home today?
你打算长时间停留吗？
Nǐ dǎsuàn cháng shíjiān tíngliú ma?
Do you plan to stay long?
我必须留在医院吗？
Wǒ bìxū liú zài yīyuàn ma?
Do I have to stay in the hospital?
Character Family
田 Radical Family — Characters sharing the field radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 留 (liú) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 留 have?
What is the radical of 留?
What are the components of 留?
What are common words containing 留?
What characters sound the same as 留 (liú)?
Is 留 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 留 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.