返 (fǎn) — to return, to go back (formal, often in compounds)
Definition
返 (fǎn) is a formal/literary verb meaning 'to return, go back' — almost always seen in compounds like 返程, 返回, 返乡. Use 回来/回去 in everyday speech.
verb
to returnto go back (formal, often in compounds)
Examples
- 。Qǐng nín què rèn fǎn chéng rì qī.Please confirm your return date.
- 。Háng bān yīn tiān qì yuán yīn bèi pò fǎn huí.The flight was forced to return due to weather conditions.
- ，。Tā lí jiā duō nián, zhōng yú tà shàng le fǎn xiāng zhī lù.After years away from home, he finally embarked on the road back to his hometown.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
辶Written in full as辵chuòmovement
返 pairs 辶 (movement) with 反 (sound, with the sense of returning); the whole character originally meant coming back along the path one came from.
Appears in
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