TongTong
Sign in

滞留 (zhì liú) — (of a person) to be stranded / to be stuck (somewhere); (of a substance) to linger / to remain (instead of dissipating)

Definition

滞留 (zhì liú) means to be stuck or stranded somewhere involuntarily, or (of a substance) to linger without dissipating. Stronger than 停留 (which is a neutral temporary stay) and more passive than 卡 (to get blocked).

verb
(of a person) to be stranded / to be stuck (somewhere)(of a substance) to linger / to remain (instead of dissipating)

Examples

  • ，滞留。
    Tái fēng guò hòu, shàng qiān míng chéng kè zhì liú zài jī chǎng.
    After the typhoon, thousands of passengers were stranded at the airport.
  • 滞留。
    Bào yǔ zào chéng dà liàng wū shuǐ zài dì miàn zhì liú.
    The heavy rain caused a large amount of sewage to linger on the ground.
  • 滞留。
    Tā yīn háng bān qǔ xiāo zài shàng hǎi zhì liú le liǎng tiān.
    He was stuck in Shanghai for two days because his flight was canceled.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

滞zhìstagnate
留liústay

“滞” suggests being held up, and “留” suggests staying, so the sense is to remain stranded.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 滯; 滞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
帶
帶dài滯zhì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 滯 combines 水 (water) with 帶, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 滞 is a later shorthand.

Open 滞 →

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.

Open 留 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Travel & Tourism

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.