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回响 (huí xiǎng) — to reverberate, to echo

Definition

回响 (huíxiǎng) means 'to reverberate, to echo' — like a 响应, it can also mean a lasting emotional or mental impact (e.g. a speech 'reverberates' in people's hearts). More literary than the everyday verb 响.

verb
to reverberateto echo

Examples

  • 回响，。
    Tā de shēng yīn zài kōng kuàng de dà tīng lǐ huí xiǎng zhe, jiǔ jiǔ bú sàn.
    His voice reverberated in the spacious hall, lingering for a long time.
  • 回响，。
    Shān gǔ lǐ huí xiǎng zhe niǎo r de gē shēng, fēi cháng dòng tīng.
    The valley echoed with the birds' songs, very pleasant to hear.
  • 回响。
    Nà cì yǎn jiǎng de lǐ niàn zhì jīn réng zài rén men xīn zhōng huí xiǎng.
    The ideas from that speech still reverberate in people's hearts to this day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

回huíreturn
响xiǎngsound

回 gives returning and 响 gives sound; 回响 is a returning echo.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 響; 响 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
音音yīnsound
Sound part声符shēngfú
鄉
鄉xiāng響xiǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 響 pairs 音, meaning sound, with 鄉 to give its pronunciation. The simplified 响 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical parts.

Open 响 →
Appears in
Senses

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