回游 (huí yóu) — migration (of fish) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

回游 (huíyóu) is a biology term for the regular migration of fish (e.g., upstream to spawn). It is a variant of 洄游.

migration (of fish)

，回游。
Měi nián qiū tiān, zhè xiē yú dōu huì huí yóu dào shàng yóu chǎn luǎn.
Every autumn, these fish migrate upstream to spawn.
回游。
Kē xué jiā yán jiū le guī yú de huí yóu lù jìng.
Scientists have studied the migration routes of salmon.
回游。
Zhè tiáo hé liú de huí yóu xiàn xiàng yǐ jīng chí xù le jǐ bǎi nián.
The migration phenomenon on this river has persisted for hundreds of years.

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.

'回' (return) and '游' (swim) combine to describe swimming back, as in fish migration.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.