保留（ほりゅう、horyuu）
- reservation / pending

The Japanese word 保留 (保留) means "to hold," "to postpone," "to reserve," "to put on hold," or "to suspend." It indicates delaying a decision, action, or judgment until a later time. It often implies a temporary suspension pending further consideration or information. The specific nuance of 保留 depends heavily on the context in which it's used. It can refer to a wide array of situations, from delaying a simple decision to more formal circumstances like postponing a business deal or suspending a legal process.

⚫︎ 会議の決定を保留にする。 Translation: To postpone the decision of the meeting. ⚫︎ その提案は保留になりました。 Translation: That proposal has been put on hold. ⚫︎ 予約を保留にする。 Translation: To put a reservation on hold.

⚫︎ 保留 is used when you want to signal that a decision or action isn't going to be taken immediately. ⚫︎ It is often used in professional or formal settings, such as business meetings, legal discussions, or customer service interactions. ⚫︎ It can also be used in everyday conversation to describe delaying a decision or action. ⚫︎ Often used with verbs like する (suru - to do), なる (naru - to become), and される (sareru - passive/honorific form of suru).

⚫︎ 保留 is written with the kanji 保留. ⚫︎ The reading is ほりゅう (horyuu) in hiragana. ⚫︎ It is not typically written in katakana. ⚫︎ Okurigana (the suffix hiragana) is standard as in 保留.

⚫︎ 延期 (enki) - postponement, deferment ⚫︎ 見合わせる (miawase-ru) - to postpone, to suspend (often because of caution or a lack of information) ⚫︎ 持ち越す (mochikosu) - to carry over (a topic or issue to a later meeting/time) ⚫︎ 先送り (sakiosuri) - postponing, putting off.

⚫︎ 決定 (kettei) - decision, determination ⚫︎ 実行 (jikkou) - implementation, execution ⚫︎ 即決 (sokketu) - immediate decision

新しいプロジェクトは、詳細が検討されるまで保留になりました。 ・Translation: The new project has been put on hold until the details are examined. ・Explanation: The sentence indicates that the project is not going forward immediately, pending a deeper review of its specifics.

この件については、上司の指示を仰ぐため、現時点では保留とさせていただきます。 ・Translation: Regarding this matter, we will put it on hold for now to seek instructions from our supervisor. ・Explanation: This is a polite and formal way of stating that a decision is being delayed pending further direction.

The word 保留 (保留) is a combination of two kanji: ⚫︎ 保 (ho) - meaning "to protect," "to keep," or "to maintain." ⚫︎ 留 (ryuu) - meaning "to stay," "to detain," or "to keep." Together, these kanji convey the idea of keeping or holding something back, which accurately reflects the meaning of 保留.