liú
verb HSK 2 #374

Meanings

  1. 1 to stay; to remain
  2. 2 to keep; to leave behind

Examples

Nǐ liú xiàlái chīfàn ba.
Stay and have dinner.
Qǐng liú ge diànhuà hàomǎ.
Please leave a phone number.
Zhè jiàn yīfu wǒ yào liú zhe.
I want to keep this piece of clothing.

Tips

usage
can mean staying in a place (留在北京), keeping something (留着), or leaving something behind for someone (给你留了一些). It's versatile and common in daily speech.

Components

radical
tián
cultivated field
Bottom field radical — anchors in the agricultural setting: things that stay tied to the land. To remain on the field, to keep what the field produces, to detain someone in place. From the literal staying came the modern senses to leave behind, to retain, and to preserve (保留). Same field family: , , , .
phonetic
mǎo
splitting; opening (here phonetic)
Top supplies the sound (mǎo → liú through historical drift in this phonetic series). originally pictured a split-open mortise or a pair of doors swinging apart; here that splitting imagery faintly hooks into the meaning to remain — what is left behind after others go. Same phonetic family: (willow), (anchor), (water grass).

Stroke Order

liú