回忆 (huí yì) — to recall, to remember | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

回忆 (huíyì) means to recall or recollect — deliberately bringing the past back to mind, often with a sense of nostalgia. Stronger and more literary than 记得 (simple 'to remember'); also used as a noun for 'memories'.

verb

to recallto remember

Measure word · 个

Examples

回忆。
Tā cháng cháng huí yì xiǎo shí hou de shì.
He often recalls things from his childhood.
回忆。
Wǒ nǔ lì huí yì tā de míng zì.
I try hard to recall his name.
回忆。
huí yì Guò qù néng ràng wǒ men gèng zhēn xī xiàn zài.
Recalling the past can make us cherish the present more.

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.

忆yìremember

回 gives the sense of going back and 忆 gives remembering; together they mean recalling the past.

Characters in this word

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

回 comes from a drawing of a spiral, showing something turning around.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

忄乙忆

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

乙

乙yǐ忆yì

Same sound today

忆 pairs 忄 (heart) with 乙 as a sound part, forming a character for remembering.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 4 Thinking & Cognition 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.