找回 (zhǎo huí) — to retrieve, to recover (something lost) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A resultative verb: 找 ('look for') + 回 ('back'), meaning to find/get something back that was lost. It is a separable verb — you can insert other elements, as in 找回了自信 ('regained confidence'), and it's not interchangeable with plain 找.

verb

to retrieveto recover (something lost)

Examples

找回。
Tā zhōng yú zhǎo huí le zì jǐ de shǒu jī.
He finally retrieved his phone.
找回。
Tā nǔ lì zhǎo huí zì xìn.
She worked hard to regain her confidence.
找回？
Zhè xiē wén jiàn hái néng zhǎo huí ma?
Can these documents still be recovered?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

The action of 找 and the result 回 combine to mean retrieving something.

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.

扌戈找

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

戈

戈gē找zhǎo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

找 pairs 扌 (hand) with 戈 as a sound part. The idea that it shows a hand looking for a halberd is only a memory trick.

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.

Appears in

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