TongTong
Sign in

修复 (xiū fù) — to restore, to repair, to renovate (buildings, artifacts, files, relationships)

Definition

修复 (xiū fù) is the formal 'restore' — for artifacts, data, or relationships. Stronger than 修理 (everyday physical fixing) and broader than 恢复 (return to a prior state).

verb
to restoreto repairto renovate (buildings, artifacts, files, relationships)

Examples

  • 修复。
    Zhuān jiā zhèng zài xiū fù zhè fú gǔ huà.
    The expert is restoring this ancient painting.
  • 修复。
    Gōng chéng shī xiū fù le diū shī de shù jù.
    The engineer repaired the lost data.
  • 修复。
    Tā men xiǎng xiū fù bǐ cǐ de guān xì.
    They want to mend their relationship.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

修xiūrepair
复fùrestore

修 means to repair and 复 means to restore, giving the sense of bringing something back to working order.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu修xiū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

修 is built from 攸, which gives the sound, and 彡, a set of three strokes that shows the meaning.

Open 修 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 復; 复 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 复 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (复习, 恢复) it is 復; in others (复印, 复杂) (答复, 反复) it is 複 or 覆.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chìwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
复
复fù復fù
Same sound today

The traditional form 復 combines 彳, a walking part, with 复, a sound part, to show walking back and forth.

Open 复 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Change & Process

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.