停留 (tíng liú) — to stay temporarily, to stop over | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

停留 means to stop and stay briefly somewhere, often mid-journey (e.g. a train stopping at a station). Unlike 住宿, it implies a short stop, not overnight lodging.

verb

to stay temporarilyto stop over

Examples

停留。
Wǒ zài shàng hǎi tíng liú le yì tiān.
I stayed in Shanghai for a day.
停留。
Huǒ chē zài zhè ge zhàn zhī tíng liú wǔ fēn zhōng.
The train only stops at this station for five minutes.
停留。
Tā men jué dìng zài zhè lǐ tíng liú yí duàn shí jiān.
They decided to stay here for a period of time.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

停 (stay) and 留 (remain) both point to staying in one place, hence to stop over.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻亭停

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

亭

亭tíng停tíng

Same sound today

The left side 亻 is a person, and the right side 亭 gives the sound tíng; this forms 停.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

田田tiánfield

Sound part声符shēngfú

卯

卯mǎo留liú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

留 combines 田 (field) with 卯, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Travel & Tourism

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