留守 (liú shǒu) — (historical/military) to stay behind (to handle affairs when the main person or force is away); (modern) to be left behind (especially of children or elderly when family members migrate)
Definition
Literally "stay and guard": to remain in place while others leave, handling affairs or simply being left behind. In modern Chinese it most often describes children or elderly left in rural homes when family members migrate to cities for work.
verb
(historical/military) to stay behind (to handle affairs when the main person or force is away)(modern) to be left behind (especially of children or elderly when family members migrate)
Examples
- ，留守。Huáng dì lí kāi shǒu dū, yóu tài zǐ liú shǒu.The emperor left the capital, and the crown prince stayed behind to govern.
- ，留守。Hěn duō nóng cūn de hái zi fù mǔ qù chéng lǐ gōng zuò, tā men zhǐ néng liú shǒu zài jiā.Many rural children's parents go to work in cities, and they have to stay behind at home.
- ，留守。Nǐ men qù kāi huì, wǒ liú shǒu bàn gōng shì.You go to the meeting, I'll stay behind at the office.
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