Chinese symbol for “retain”
留
liú
to leave (a message etc); to retain; to stay; to remain
The closest CC-CEDICT match for retain is 留 (liú), defined as: to leave (a message etc); to retain; to stay; to remain; to keep; to preserve.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “retain”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 保留 | bǎo liú | to keep; to retain |
| 留置 | liú zhì | to leave in place; to set aside (for further use); to retain; to detain (a suspect or offender) |
| 保有 | bǎo yǒu | to keep; to retain |
| 存有 | cún yǒu | to hold in storage; to retain |
| 留有 | liú yǒu | to remain in existence; to retain |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 留.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 留下 | liú xià | to leave behind; to stay behind |
| 保留 | bǎo liú | to keep; to retain |
| 留言 | liú yán | to leave a message; to leave one's comments; message |
| 留学 (留學) | liú xué | to study abroad |
| 停留 | tíng liú | to stay for a time; to stop; to remain; to remain (at a stage, level etc) |
| 拘留 | jū liú | to detain (as a prisoner); to keep sb in custody |
See also: Japanese symbol for “retain”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.