留守儿童

Traditional form:

留守兒童

Pinyin (reading):

liúshǒu'értóng

Definitions:

• "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

Characters:

• 留 - to stay, to remain; to preserve, to keep; to leave a message; 
• 守 - to defend, to guard, to protect; to conserve; to wait
• 儿 - son, child
• 童 - child, boy; servant boy; virgin

Traditional characters:

• 留 - to stay, to remain; to preserve, to keep; to leave a message; 
• 守 - to defend, to guard, to protect; to conserve; to wait
• 兒 - son, child
• 童 - child, boy; servant boy; virgin