留守

• 読み: るす
• ローマ字: rusu
• 漢字の分解: 留 (ryuu/ru/to) — stay, detain; 守 (shu/su/mamo) — guard, protect
• 発音: /ɾɯ.sɯ/

意味

Absence from home; being away; not at home. Describes the state of no one being at a residence.

A noun that can also function as a する verb (留守にする, to be away from home). Frequently appears in 留守番 (rusuban, house-sitting), 留守番電話 (answering machine), and the expression 留守にする (to be out). Common in daily conversation about visits and deliveries.

例文

1. 友達の家に行ったが留守だった。
2. 留守の間にたくさん荷物が届きました。
3. 母が留守番電話にメッセージを残していた。

使い方ガイド

場面: home, delivery, visiting

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

Compound of 留 (stay, detain) and 守 (guard, protect). Paradoxically means guarding while staying behind, originally referring to those who stayed to guard a castle while the lord was away.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal