滞留 zhìliú

1. (of a person) to remain in (a place) (due to circumstances that prevent one leaving); to be stranded^†
2. (of sth that would typically dissipate, e.g. floodwater, pollutants) to remain; to linger^†

† Our own dictionary has no entry for 滞留, so these meanings are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG and its contributors and based on CEDICT © 1997, 1998 Paul Andrew Denisowski, and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

滞留 is written with 2 characters. Chinese words are usually easier to remember once you can see what each part contributes.

Every sentence on this site that uses 滞留 is collected on the 滞留 sentence page. Want pinyin above a sentence of your own? Paste it into the Pinyin Annotator.

These are also written zhiliu without tone marks. Tones and context are what keep them apart — which is why the tone is part of the word, not an accent on it.

Train the difference in the Tone Trainer or the Similar Sounds Quiz.

What does 滞留 mean in English?

滞留 is pronounced zhìliú and means (of a person) to remain in (a place) (due to circumstances that prevent one leaving); to be stranded, (of sth that would typically dissipate, e.g. floodwater, pollutants) to remain; to linger †.

How do you pronounce 滞留?

滞留 is zhìliú in pinyin — written zhiliu without tone marks. Press the audio button on this page to hear it spoken by a native voice.

What are the characters in 滞留?

滞留 is written with 2 characters: 滞 (zhì) Sluggish (stagnates - comes to a stop), 留 (liú) Stay (remain - leave - be mindful - maneuver). Knowing the parts is usually how the whole word becomes memorable.

How is 滞留 written in traditional Chinese?

滯留. The simplified form 滞留 is used in mainland China and Singapore; 滯留 is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Both are pronounced zhìliú.

Is 滞留 an HSK word?

Yes — 滞留 is on the official HSK 6 vocabulary list. You can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 6 page.