to stay - 留 or 呆 or 住?

[Christa]

Hi guys,

 

I've often found the distinction between these words a little confusing. Often, when I'd expect someone to say 留 they say 呆 or when I expect them to say 呆 they say 住.

 

Does anyone have any general rules that they follow that help them distinguish these words from one another? Or does anyone have a fairly straightforward explanation of what makes each word more appropriate in certain situations than in others?

 

Would love to hear what you all think.

 

 

Christina

[yueni]

I generally think of the difference like so:

 

住：to stay as in to live and/or reside.

1. 我住在美国。   I stay in the US.  (meaning that that is the country where you reside.)
2. 我住旅馆。      I'm staying in a hotel (probably in answer to, where are you staying here in [place that you are visiting])
3. 他跟爸妈一起住。     He stays (or lives) with his parents.

呆：to stay as in, for a short period of time, just hanging out, very casual; does not necessarily mean reside

1. 我呆在家。      I stayed at home. (typically in answer to the question "what did you do this weekend?", can also be rephrased as "I hung out at home.")
2. 他在酒吧呆了整个晚上。      He stayed at the bar all night. (emphasis is on the fact that he was there all night, can also replace "stayed" with "hung out" in this particular sentence.)
3. 我在北京呆了两年。      I spent two years in Beijing. (The emphasis here is not that I lived in Beijing, but rather, that I was there for two years.)

留：to stay as in, to stay behind, or to remain behind

1. 我留在家。    I stayed at home. (the implication is that I was planning on going out, but instead decided for whatever reason to remain at home, or that everybody else went out, and I remained at home)
2. 他留在那里工作。     He stayed there to work. (implication is that when he went to that place, he was not necessarily planning on staying there.)

Hope this helps!

[Christa]

5 hours ago, yueni said:

I generally think of the difference like so:

 

住：to stay as in to live and/or reside.

1. 我住在美国。   I stay in the US.  (meaning that that is the country where you reside.)
2. 我住旅馆。      I'm staying in a hotel (probably in answer to, where are you staying here in [place that you are visiting])
3. 他跟爸妈一起住。     He stays (or lives) with his parents.

呆：to stay as in, for a short period of time, just hanging out, very casual; does not necessarily mean reside

1. 我呆在家。      I stayed at home. (typically in answer to the question "what did you do this weekend?", can also be rephrased as "I hung out at home.")
2. 他在酒吧呆了整个晚上。      He stayed at the bar all night. (emphasis is on the fact that he was there all night, can also replace "stayed" with "hung out" in this particular sentence.)
3. 我在北京呆了两年。      I spent two years in Beijing. (The emphasis here is not that I lived in Beijing, but rather, that I was there for two years.)

留：to stay as in, to stay behind, or to remain behind

1. 我留在家。    I stayed at home. (the implication is that I was planning on going out, but instead decided for whatever reason to remain at home, or that everybody else went out, and I remained at home)
2. 他留在那里工作。     He stayed there to work. (implication is that when he went to that place, he was not necessarily planning on staying there.)

Hope this helps!

 

This is the best explanation I have ever heard for this. Thank you!

[Messidor]

actually it's 待, not 呆, though the typo is somewhat common among native speakers (blame it on the imput program)

 

the nuances can be quite confusing to foreign learners. eg (according to my own language habits):

我会留在英国。

I will stay in Britain (doesn't indicate how long her/his stay will be, probably forever)

我会待在英国。

I will stay in Britain (doesn't indicate the length either, but when this sentence is juxtaposed with the former one, it sounds like his/her stay is not forever)

the other meanings of 留 may give u some clues.

我不打算留他们过夜。

I don't wanna ask them to stay overnight.

note that 留 can be divalent (with an object), it can be translated as "make someone stay, keep someone somewhere"

*我不打算待他们过夜。

待daī is always monovalent. 

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我会在英国留一段时间。

我会在英国待一段时间。

both are fine, I can't see any difference.

[ipohassassin]

well, if you want someone to stay here... just use 留

for example, please stay here 

:- 请留在这里