环游 (huán yóu) — to tour around; to travel around (a place) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

verb

to tour aroundto travel around (a place)

Examples

环游。
Tā jì huà huán yóu ōu zhōu yí gè yuè.
She plans to tour around Europe for a month.
环游。
Hěn duō rén mèng xiǎng huán yóu shì jiè.
Many people dream of traveling around the world.
环游。
Wǒ men zuò yóu lún huán yóu le jiā lè bǐ hǎi.
We cruised around the Caribbean on a cruise ship.

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.

环 around and 游 travel combine to mean travel in a circuit around a place.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 環; 环 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

睘

睘qióng環huán

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

The traditional form 環 pairs 玉 (jade) with a sound part; the simplified 环 is a shorthand and its right side is not the historical sound part.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

斿

斿yóu游yóu

Same sound today

游 combines 水 (water) with 斿, which gives the sound yóu and also relates to travelling.

Appears in

Travel & Tourism

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