滞在します（たいざいします、taizaいshimasu）
- to stay

The Japanese word 滞在します (たいざいします) means "to stay," "to reside," or "to visit for a period of time." It refers to the act of being present in a place for a specific duration. This duration can range from a short visit to a long-term residency. It implies a temporary or extended presence, not a permanent one. The focus is on the period of time spent at a location.

⚫︎日本に一週間滞在します。 Translation: I will stay in Japan for a week. ⚫︎ホテルに三日間滞在します。 Translation: I will stay at the hotel for three days. ⚫︎彼はロンドンに一年間滞在滞在します予定です。 Translation: He plans to stay in London for a year.

This word is used when you are talking about staying somewhere, either in the present, past, or future. It's suitable for various situations, from talking about a vacation to mentioning a work trip or even a long-term stay abroad. The context determines how long the stay is. You'll typically use this verb with a location and a time frame (e.g., "for a week," "until next month," "during the summer"). The word 滞在 (taizai) is the noun form, and します (shimasu) is the polite -masu form of the verb "to do". Therefore 滞在します is the polite form of the verb “to stay.” You can conjugate it like any other -masu verb (e.g., 滞在しました (taizaishimashita) - stayed; 滞在しません (taizai shimasen) - will not stay).

The word is typically written as 滞在します in kanji and hiragana. The kanji is 滞在, and the verb ending is the polite form します. 滞在 itself can be used as a noun, meaning "stay," "residence," or "sojourn". There are no variations in the okurigana for this word. The hiragana reading is たいざいします. The dictionary form, and also the plain form, is 滞在する (taizai suru).

Some synonyms include: ⚫︎泊まります (tomarimasu) - to stay (usually at a hotel or inn) ⚫︎留まります (tomarimasu) - to stay (more formal, often used in official contexts or for staying in a place temporarily) ⚫︎居ます (imasu) - to be (present) (used for people or animals and usually implies presence, but not necessarily a stay) ⚫︎過ごします (sugoshimasu) - to spend (time) (can be used to describe how time is spent during a stay).

There is no direct single antonym for [滞在します]. However, some words that imply the opposite action (leaving or not staying) are: ⚫︎出発します (shuppatsushimasu) - to depart, to leave ⚫︎去ります (sarimasu) - to leave, to depart ⚫︎出ます (demasu) - to exit, to leave

夏休みに京都に二週間滞在します。 ⚫︎Translation: I will stay in Kyoto for two weeks during summer vacation. ⚫︎Explanation: This sentence describes a planned stay in Kyoto during the summer holidays.

彼は東京に長期滞在します予定です。 ⚫︎Translation: He plans to stay in Tokyo for a long time. ⚫︎Explanation: This describes a plan for a long-term stay in Tokyo.

The word 滞在 is a compound word formed from two kanji: 滞 (tai) and 在 (zai). 滞 means "to be delayed," "to stagnate," or "to linger." 在 means "to exist," "to be present," or "to reside." Combining these kanji, 滞在 originally meant something close to "to linger in a place" or "to be present at a location for some time," which is the core meaning of the verb 滞在します.