居留守

Japanese[edit]

Compound of 居 (i, “being (in a place)”, 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 居(い)る (iru, “to be (in a place)”), said of animate subjects) +‎ 留守 (rusu, “absence (from home)”).^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

First attested in a text from 1896.^[1]

居(い)留(る)守(す) • (irusu) ^{←ゐるす (wirusu)^?}

When used in a verb phrase, takes the verb 使う (tsukau, “to use”) rather than する (suru, “to do”).

居留守(いるす)を使(つか)って電話(でんわ)に出(で)ない
irusu o tsukatte denwa ni denai
using a pretend absence and not getting on the phone → to fake being away and not pick up the phone

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 “居留守”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
^ “居留守”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ 2002, Yasuo Kitahara, 明鏡国語辞典 (Meikyō Kokugo Jiten), First Edition (in Japanese), Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten, →ISBN
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN