Definition

Verb (transitive): - To keep as a memento/to remember by: The act of keeping or preserving an object, experience, or memory for the purpose of remembrance, often to commemorate a person, event, or place. It implies an intentional act of holding onto something for its sentimental or commemorative value.

Usage

• General Usage: Used to describe the action of keeping something for sentimental reasons, not for its practical utility.
  • Anh ấy lưu niệm tất cả những bức thư cũ. (He keeps as mementos all the old letters.)
  • Tôi lưu niệm chiếc vòng tay này từ bà ngoại. (I keep as a keepsake this bracelet from my grandmother.)
• Common Contexts: Often used in the context of gifts, travel souvenirs, photographs, or items associated with important life events.
  • Chúng tôi chụp một bức ảnh để lưu niệm. (We took a photo to remember this moment/to keep as a souvenir.)

Advanced Usage

• "Để lưu niệm": A very common phrase meaning "as a keepsake/memento" or "for remembrance". It often describes the purpose of a gift or action.
  • Cô ấy tặng tôi cây bút này để lưu niệm. (She gave me this pen as a keepsake.)
• "Vật lưu niệm": A compound noun meaning "souvenir", "keepsake", or "memento". (Note: This is a related compound word, not the verb itself).
  • Cửa hàng bán vật lưu niệm rất đông khách. (The souvenir shop has many customers.)

Variants and Related Words

• Kỷ niệm (noun): Memory, remembrance, anniversary. While "lưu niệm" is the of keeping a memory, "kỷ niệm" is the memory or commemorative event itself.
  • Đây là một kỷ niệm đẹp. (This is a beautiful memory.)
• Lưu giữ (verb): To preserve, to keep, to store. This is a more general term for keeping something, without the specific sentimental connotation of "lưu niệm".
  • Thư viện lưu giữ nhiều tài liệu quý. (The library preserves many valuable documents.)

Synonyms

• Giữ làm kỷ niệm: To keep as a memento. (A descriptive synonym phrase).
• Lưu giữ kỷ niệm: To preserve a memory. (Another descriptive phrase).

Related Phrases / Idioms

• Lưu lại làm kỷ niệm: To save/keep as a memento. This is a fuller, more explicit phrasing of the core meaning.
  • Hãy lưu lại tấm vé này làm kỷ niệm. (Please save this ticket as a memento.)

1. Keep for the sake of (the giver...)
   • Tặng ai quyển sách để lưu niệm
     To give someone a book for a keepsake