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留下来 (liú xià lái) — to stay behind, to remain (instead of leaving); to leave behind (a physical object or abstract result)

Definition

A verb-complement phrase: 留 (stay/keep) + 下来 (down, indicating continuation or a resulting state). The first sense means 'to stay behind'; with an object it means 'to leave something behind (a thing, an impression, a result).'

verb
to stay behindto remain (instead of leaving)to leave behind (a physical object or abstract result)

Examples

  • ，留下来。
    Nǐ men xiān zǒu, wǒ liú xià lái yí huì r.
    You go ahead, I'll stay behind for a while.
  • 留下来，。
    Zhè běn shū shì lǎo shī liú xià lái de, ràng wǒ zhuǎn jiāo gěi nǐ.
    This book is what the teacher left behind; he asked me to pass it to you.
  • 留下来。
    Tā de yǎn jiǎng gěi guān zhòng liú xià lái le shēn kè de yìn xiàng.
    His speech left a deep impression on the audience.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

留liústay
下来downward toward the speaker
下xiàdown来láicome
联合Coordinate

留 means stay, 下 means down, and 来 means come, so stay behind.

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →
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