留
留 — Detain
detain, fasten, halt, stop
On’yomiリュウ (ryuu)
On’yomiル (ru)
Kun’yomiとめる (tomeru)
Kun’yomiとまる (tomaru)
Kun’yomiとどめる (todomeru)
Kun’yomiとどまる (todomaru)
Kun’yomiるうぶる (ruuburu)
Stroke order (10 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 留
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 残留 | ざんりゅう zanryuu | staying behind; remaining; residual |
| 留学 | りゅうがく ryuugaku | studying abroad; (temporarily) studying at another school (to learn a specific skill) |
| 留学生 | りゅうがくせい ryuugakusei | overseas student; exchange student |
| 駐留 | ちゅうりゅう chuuryuu | stationing (e.g. of troops); garrison |
| 抑留 | よくりゅう yokuryuu | internment; detainment; detention |
| 在留 | ざいりゅう zairyuu | residing (esp. abroad); staying; living |
Study notes
留 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 10 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 5), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #731 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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