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收回 (shōu huí) — to take back, withdraw, recall, or reclaim (words, statements, products, documents, money, etc.)

Definition

收回 (shōu huí) means to take back or withdraw something previously issued — words, money, products, permissions. The verb-object structure is separable: you can say 收回来 (‘take it back’) with 来 inserted between the two characters.

verb
to take backwithdrawrecallor reclaim (words, statements, products, documents, money, etc.)

Examples

  • 收回。
    Wǒ shōu huí wǒ shuō guò de huà.
    I take back what I said.
  • 收回。
    Gōng sī shōu huí le bù hé gé de chǎn pǐn.
    The company recalled the substandard products.
  • 收回。
    Yín háng jué dìng shōu huí zhè bǐ dài kuǎn.
    The bank decided to call in this loan.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

收shōutake in
回huíback

'收' means take in and '回' adds the direction back, so together they mean take back.

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū收shōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

收 uses 攴 to show an action and 丩 as a sound clue; the old meaning was 'to arrest.'

Open 收 →

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 →
Appears in
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