Meaning

Primary

To Remain Behind

Alternatives

To Remain, To Stay Behind

Word Type

intransitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means remainder, so the verb vocab version is "to remainder." Let's make that sound better: to remain behind.

Reading

のこる
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you: You decide to remain behind. Everyone else leaves, and you think you're alone. Then, someone knocks (のこ) on the door. Your heart jumps in your throat. They knock again.

Context

Patterns of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 心に残る

    to remain in one's heart

    思い出に残る

    to remain in one's memory

    手元に残る

    to remain in one's possession

Context Sentences

私はここに残るよ。

I'll stay here.

クッキー、残っちゃったね。

The cookies got left, huh?

キャンプに行かずに家に残って、残っていたカレーを食べました。

I stayed home instead of going camping and ate the leftover curry.

Kanji Composition