留用 (liú yòng) — (of a person) to continue to employ, to keep on staff; (of an item) to keep for one's own use

Definition

留用 means to retain or keep something (or someone) in service or for one's own use, rather than replacing, discarding, or giving it away. A 离合词 — insert other words between 留 and 用 (e.g. 留下来用, 留下来继续用).

verb
(of a person) to continue to employto keep on staff(of an item) to keep for one's own use

Examples

  • 留用。
    Gōng sī jué dìng liú yòng zhè wèi lǎo yuán gōng.
    The company decided to keep this senior employee.
  • 留用，。
    Zhè xiē dōng xī wǒ zàn shí liú yòng, bú sòng gěi bié rén.
    I'll keep these things for now and not give them away.
  • 留用。
    Xīn zhèng cè yǔn xǔ qǐ yè liú yòng yōu xiù rén cái.
    The new policy allows companies to retain outstanding talent.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

留liúretain
用yònguse

留 means retain and 用 means use or employ, naming keeping someone or something in service.

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.

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 →

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

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →

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