回 huí — to return, to go back; to turn round; to reply; a time, an occasion (measure word); a chapter of a novel
huí (second tone, rising)
to return, to go back; to turn round; to reply; a time, an occasion (measure word); a chapter of a novel
6 strokesRadical 囗Frequency #176
Pinyin
- huí (second tone, rising)
to return, to go back; to turn round; to reply; a time, an occasion (measure word); a chapter of a novel
Character breakdown
Ideographic description
⿴囗口The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.
- 囗shape partno entry yetThe outer turn of a spiral.
- 口shape partThe inner turn. The whole character is one picture — water eddying round on itself — squared off into boxes by the brush.
Mnemonic
An eddy: water turning back on itself, drawn as one square inside another. From turning back come all the modern senses — 回家 to go home, 回来 to come back, 回答 to answer, and 回 as a measure word for occasions: 这是第一回, this is the first time. Write the outer box last stroke last, after everything it contains.
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.