环顾 (huán gù) — to look around (a place); to survey; to review… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

环顾 (huángù) means to look or scan one's surroundings, either a physical space or, more abstractly, a situation. Compared to the literal 四周 (every direction), it often takes a direct object like 房间 or 四周.

verb

to look around (a place)to surveyto review (a situation)

Examples

环顾，。
Tā huán gù le yí xià fáng jiān, què rèn méi rén.
He looked around the room and confirmed no one was there.
环顾，。
Jīng lǐ huán gù sì zhōu, fā xiàn dà jiā dōu zài rèn zhēn gōng zuò.
The manager looked around and found everyone working hard.
，环顾。
Zài zuò chū jué dìng zhī qián, tā xiān huán gù le yí xià shì chǎng qíng kuàng.
Before making a decision, he first surveyed the market situation.

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 means around and 顾 means look, giving to look around.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 顧; 顾 is its simplified writing.

雇頁顧

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yè

Sound part声符shēngfú

雇

雇gù顧gù

Same sound today

The traditional form 顧 combines 雇 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; 顾 is the simplified form of 顧.

Appears in

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