Japanese symbol for “staying”

在留

ざいりゅう

Romaji: zairyuu

residing (esp. abroad); staying; living

In Japanese, staying is 在留, read ざいりゅう (zairyuu).

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.

Meanings

adj-no, n, vi residing (esp. abroad); staying; living

Kanji and stroke order

在

exist, outskirts, suburbs

on: ザイ
kun: あ.る

6 strokes · JLPT 2

留

detain, fasten, halt

on: リュウ、ル
kun: と.める、と.まる、とど.める、とど.まる

10 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “staying”

Word	Reading	Meaning
厄介	やっかい yakkai	care; dependence; support
寝起き	ねおき neoki	living (with); staying (with)

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
現在	げんざい genzai	the present; present time; now
存在	そんざい sonzai	existence; being; presence
滞在	たいざい taizai	stay; sojourn
在日	ざいにち zainichi	resident in Japan (of a foreigner); situated in Japan (e.g. of an embassy)
不在	ふざい fuzai	absence
潜在	せんざい senzai	potentiality; dormancy; latency
留学	りゅうがく ryuugaku	studying abroad
留学生	りゅうがくせい ryuugakusei	overseas student; exchange student

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.