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留守兒童

简留守儿童 · 繁留守兒童

Mandarin · pinyin liú shǒu ér tóng

"left-behind children", rural children whose parents have to make a living as migrant workers in distant urban areas, but cannot afford to keep the family with them

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Characters in this entry

留: liú · stop, halt; stay, detain, keep
守: shǒu · defend, protect, guard, conserve
兒: ér · son, child, oneself; final part
童: tóng · child, boy, servant boy; virgin
儿: ér · son, child; Kangxi radical 10

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Mandarin tones

2–3–2–2 · liu2 shou3 er2 tong2

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(Mainland China, neologism) left-behind children (children of rural parents who grow up in a rural area while their parents seek work in an urban area)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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