ở lạị

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To stay behind / to remain: The primary meaning of "ở lại" is to continue to be in a place when other people have left or gone away.
   • To stay over / to lodge: It can also mean to stay temporarily at a location, such as a guest staying at someone's house.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Mọi người về hết, chỉ có tôi ở lại. (Everyone went home, only I stayed behind.)
  • Bạn tôi sẽ ở lại nhà tôi hai ngày. (My friend will stay at my house for two days.)
  • Cô ấy quyết định ở lại thành phố sau khi tốt nghiệp. (She decided to stay in the city after graduating.)

Advanced Usage

• "ở lại đây": A common phrase meaning "stay here".
  • Xin hãy ở lại đây chờ tôi. (Please stay here and wait for me.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lưu lại (v): to stay, to remain (often for a short time or with a focus on being left behind).

  • Anh ấy lưu lại đến cuối buổi họp. (He stayed until the end of the meeting.)

• Ở (v): to reside, to live at. "Ở lại" adds the nuance of "remaining" or "staying on" compared to the base verb "ở".

  • Tôi ở Hà Nội. (I live in Hanoi.)

Synonyms

• Remain: to continue to be in the same place.
• Stay: to not leave a place.
• Lodge: to stay temporarily.

Related Idioms

• Ở lại với nhau: to stay together (often implying in a relationship or through difficulty).
  • Họ hứa sẽ ở lại với nhau dù khó khăn. (They promised to stay together through difficulties.)