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绕行 (rào xíng) — to take a detour; to bypass (road closure, construction); to orbit; to circumnavigate (a celestial body, planet)

Definition

绕行 means to take a detour or bypass (e.g. road closed), or for a body to orbit another. 比 环绕 more practical and traffic-oriented; 比 走弯路 more concrete and less figurative.

verb
to take a detourto bypass (road closure, construction)to orbitto circumnavigate (a celestial body, planet)

Examples

  • ，绕行。
    Qián fāng shī gōng, qǐng chē liàng rào xíng.
    Construction ahead. Vehicles please take a detour.
  • 绕行。
    Yuè qiú rào xíng dì qiú yì zhōu dà yuē xū yào yí gè yuè.
    The Moon takes about one month to orbit the Earth.
  • ，绕行。
    Yīn wèi dào lù fēng bì, wǒ men zhǐ néng rào xíng.
    Because the road is closed, we can only take a detour.

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.

绕ràoaround
行xínggo/travel

绕 gives 'around' and 行 gives 'go/travel', so the route is a roundabout one.

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 繞; 绕 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
堯
堯yáo繞rào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 繞 pairs 糸 (rope) with 堯 as a sound component; the simplified 绕 is a later shorthand.

Open 绕 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Roads & Traffic

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