留: to keep; to stop

留 líu

verb
: to keep; to stay; to ask someone to stay
: to leave behind

Kun Reading

留め | とめ tome

noun | suffix
: (a) stop (e.g. in a timber joint, or at the end of a kanji stroke)
: remaining (e.g. poste-restante)
: forty-five degree angle

留め | とどめ todome

noun
: finishing blow; clincher

留る OR 留まる OR 止まる | とまる tomaru

godan verb with ru ending | intransitive verb
: to stop (moving); to come to a stop
: to stop (doing, working, being supplied); to come to a halt; to cease; to be stopped; to be suspended
: to alight; to perch on

留り OR 留まり | どまり domari

noun | suffix
: stopping at; going no further than

留める OR 止める | とめる tomeru

ichidan verb | transitive verb
: to stop (something or someone); to turn off
: to concentrate on; to pay attention to
: to remember; to bear in mind
: to fix into place
: to park; to leave somewhere for a time

留める | とどめる todomeru

ichidan verb | transitive verb
: to stop; to stay (e.g. the night); to cease; to put an end to
: to contain; to keep (in position, in place); to limit
: to record (e.g. a fact); to retain

留まる OR 止まる | とどまる todomaru

godan verb with ru ending | intransitive verb
: to remain; to abide; to stay (in the one place)
: to be limited to; to be confined to

留念 liu2nian4: to keep as a souvenir; to recall fondly

留學[学] liu2xue2: to study abroad
[留学 | りゅうがく ryuugaku: studying abroad (usu. at university level)]

留學[学]生 liu2xue2 sheng1: student studying abroad; (foreign) exchange student
[留学生 | りゅうがくせい ryuugaku sei: overseas student; exchange student]

留守 liu2shou3: to stay behind to take care of things
[るす rusu: absence; being away from home
: house-sitting; house-sitter
: being left unattended to (of one’s studies, etc.); neglecting]

留心 liu2xin1: to be careful; to pay attention to

留意 liu2yi4: to be mindful; to pay attention to; to take note of
[りゅうい ryuui: heeding; paying attention; bearing in mind]

保留 bao1liu2: to retain; to continue to have; to preserve; to maintain; to reserve; reservations; to hold back (approval or acceptance)
[ほりゅう horyuu: reserve; putting on hold; deferment
: hold (e.g. telephone button); pending]

無保留 [无保留] wu2 bao3 liu2: without reservation; not holding anything back; unconditional

停留 ting2liu2: to stay somewhere temporarily; to stop over
[ていりゅう teiryuu: stop; halt]

停留所 | ていりゅうじょ teiryuujo: bus stop; tram stop; stop; station
停留場 | ていりゅうじょう teiryuujou: stop (bus, streetcar, etc.)

收留 shou1liu2: to offer shelter; to have sb in one’s care

遺[遗]留 yi2liu2: to leave behind; to hand down
[遺留 | いりゅう iryuu: bequest]

拘留 ju1liu2: to detain (a prisoner); to keep somebody in custody
[こうりゅう kouryuu: detention; hold a person in custody]

逗留 dou4liu2: to stay at; to stop over
[とうりゅう touryuu: staying; sojourn]

Japanese personality
Takahashi Rumiko (高橋留美子 [高桥留美子] gao1 qiao2 liu2 mei3 zi3 | たかはしるみこ) (October 10, 1957-), is one of Japan’s most affluent manga artists. Her works has worldwide circulation in various languages. She has won the Shogakukan Manga Award twice: once in 1980 for Urusei Yatsura, and again in 2002 for InuYasha. In university, she enrolled in Gekiga Sonjuku, a manga school founded by Kazuo Koike, manga author of Crying Freeman and Lone Wolf and Cub.

Maison Ikkoku

Ranma 1/2

Inuyasha

Kyokai no Rinne

Her works include Urusei Yatsura (うる星やつら) [1978–87 with 28 million circulation in Japan], Maison Ikkoku (めぞん一刻) [1980–87 with 25 million circulation in Japan], Mermaid Saga (人魚シリーズ) [1984–94], Ranma ½ (らんま1/2) [1987–96 with 53 million circulation in Japan], One-pound Gospel (1ポンドの福音) [1987–2007], Rumic Theater (高橋留美子劇場) [1987–ongoing], InuYasha (犬夜叉) [1996–2008 with 45 million circulation in Japan] and Rin-ne (境界のRINNE) [2009–ongoing with 3 million circulation in Japan].
photo credit: Takahashi Rumiko

Japanese common word | expression | yojijukugo 四字熟語
留守家族 | るすかぞく rusu kazoku
: (yoji) family members left at home

留意事項 | りゅういじこう ryuui jikou
: (yoji) points to note; points of concern; matters to keep in mind; matters that require attention

お目に留まる | おめにとまる ome ni tomaru
: to be recognized (by someone of higher status); to be noticed; to get attention

お高く留まる | おたかくとまる otakaku tomaru
: to assume an air of importance; to be self-important; to put on airs

いろは歌留多 | いろはガルタ iroha garuta
: playing cards bearing proverbs in the traditional ordering of the Japanese syllabary.

Karuta (かるた, from Portuguese carta / “card”) are Japanese playing cards played by elementary and junior high school children as an educational exercise. Karuta packs are divided into two groups, those that are descended from Portuguese cards and those from Eawase (which was originally played with shells but were converted to card format during the early 17th-century).

The Eawase karuta game is to be able to quickly determine which card out of an array of cards is required and then to grab the card before it is grabbed by an opponent. The two types of Eawase karuta decks that are most often seen are the “uta-garuta” and “iroha-karuta”. In “uta-garuta”, players try to find the last two lines of a waka given the first three lines. It is often possible to identify a poem by its first one or two syllables.

“Iroha-karuta” (いろはかるた), on the other hand, is for hiragana readers. A typical torifuda features a drawing with a kana at one corner of the card. Its corresponding yomifuda features a proverb connected to the picture with the first syllable being the kana displayed on the torifuda.

The manga Chihayafuru ちはやふる, which has won the Manga Taishō Award and the Kodansha Manga Award, is written and illustrated by Yuki Suetsugu, potrays the karuta game played by a group of friends. Chihaya Ayase is inspired by a classmate to take up Hyakunin Isshu karuta competitively while they are children. The anime series aired in October 2011 and the second season aired in January 2013. A live action film adaptation Chihayafuru: Kami no Ku was released on March 19, 2016, with a second film released on April 29, 2016.
credit: Yuki Suetsugu

心に留める | こころにとめる kokoro ni tomeru
: to bear in mind; to keep remembering

気に留める | きにとめる ki ni tomeru
: to (keep in) mind; to give heed to; to pay attention to

留守を預かる | るすをあずかる rusu o azukaru
: to take charge during someone’s absence

留まるところを知らない | とどまるところをしらない todomaru tokoro o shiranai
: knowing no bounds; showing no signs of stopping or slowing down

Chinese expression | chengyu 成語 | idiom
留守兒童 [留守儿童] liu2 shou3 er2 tong2
: “left-behind children”, rural children whose parents have to make a living as migrant workers in distant urban areas, but cannot afford to keep the family with them

留有餘地 [留有余地] liu2 you3 yu2 di4
: to leave some leeway; to allow for the unpredictable

剃髮留辮 [剃发留辫] ti4 fa4 liu2 bian4
: to shave the head but keep the queue / braid

毫不留情 hao2 bu4 liu2 qing2
: to show no quarter; ruthless; relentless

手下留情 shou3 xia4 liu2 qing2
: lit. start off leniently; please do not be too strict with me. Do not judge me too harshly. Look favorably on my humble efforts.

女大不中留 nü3 da4 bu4 zhong1 liu2
: when a girl is of age, she must be married off

留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒 [留得青山在，不怕没柴烧] liu2 de5 qing1 shan1 zai4 , bu4 pa4 mei2 chai2 shao1
: While the green hills last, there’ll be wood to burn. Where there’s life there’s hope.

話到嘴邊留三分 [话到嘴边留三分] hua4 dao4 zui3 bian1 liu2 san1 fen1
: A still tongue makes a wise head.