Questions & Answers about Этот лак держится дольше, чем тот.
What does держится mean here? I thought держать meant to hold.
Here it is the verb держаться, not держать.
- держать = to hold something
- держаться = to stay on, remain, last, hold up
So in this sentence, Этот лак держится дольше means something like:
- This polish lasts longer
- This polish stays on longer
- This varnish holds up longer
With products like nail polish, paint, coating, or hair spray, держаться often means to last well / to stay in place for a long time.
Why does the verb end in -ся?
The -ся ending marks a reflexive verb. But in Russian, reflexive verbs do not always mean a literal oneself action.
In this case, держаться is just the normal dictionary form for the meaning to last / to stay on / to remain.
So you should learn these as two different verbs:
- держать = to hold
- держаться = to hold on / stay / last
This is very common in Russian: adding -ся can create a verb with a related but different meaning.
Why is it дольше and not an adjective like долгий?