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周游 (zhōu yóu) — to travel around, to journey around (a place)

Definition

A formal, literary verb meaning to travel all around (a country, the world). More elevated than 旅游 or 旅行, and emphasizes the completeness of the circuit rather than a single trip.

verb
to travel aroundto journey around (a place)

Examples

  • 周游。
    Tā tuì xiū hòu dǎ suàn zhōu yóu shì jiè.
    He plans to travel around the world after retirement.
  • 周游。
    Tā yòng le sān nián shí jiān zhōu yóu quán guó.
    She spent three years traveling around the whole country.
  • 周游。
    Gǔ dài wén rén cháng yǐ zhōu yóu gè dì lái zēng zhǎng jiàn shi.
    Ancient literati often traveled around various places to broaden their knowledge.

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.

周zhōuaround
游yóutravel

周 means around, and 游 means to travel.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The oldest form of 周 drew a jade artifact with carved patterns. It was later borrowed for a place name, so an extra mark was added to distinguish it.

Open 周 →

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.

Open 游 →
Appears in
Travel & Tourism

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