召回 (zhào huí) — to recall (diplomats, products, personnel, etc.)

Definition

Used officially for recalling people (diplomats, troops) or pulling back products (e.g. a car defect). The 'people' sense is more formal than calling someone back informally.

verb
to recall (diplomats, products, personnel, etc.)

Examples

  • 召回。
    Zhèng fǔ jué dìng zhào huí dà shǐ jìn xíng cuō shāng.
    The government decided to recall the ambassador for consultations.
  • 召回。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī yīn wèi zhì liàng wèn tí zhào huí le suǒ yǒu chǎn pǐn.
    This company recalled all its products due to quality issues.
  • 召回。
    Jūn duì yǐ jīng zhào huí le bù fen shì bīng.
    The military has recalled some soldiers.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

召zhàocall
回huíback

召 means call and 回 adds back, giving call back or recall.

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
刀
刀dāo召zhào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape of 召 pairs 口 (mouth), for calling out, with 刀 (knife), which supplies the sound; it originally meant to call out or serve wine.

Open 召 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

回 comes from a drawing of a spiral, showing something turning around.

Open 回 →

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