回笼 (huí lóng) — to steam again (reheat food that was previously steamed); (finance) to withdraw (currency) from circulation

Definition

回笼 literally means 'back into the steamer' — most commonly used for reheating steamed foods (馒头/包子) that have gone cold. The finance sense ('withdraw currency from circulation') is rare and formal.

verb
to steam again (reheat food that was previously steamed)(finance) to withdraw (currency) from circulation
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，回笼。
    Mán tou liáng le, xū yào huí lóng yí xià.
    The steamed buns are cold; they need to be steamed again.
  • 回笼。
    Yāng háng jué dìng huí lóng huò bì yǐ kòng zhì tōng huò péng zhàng.
    The central bank decided to withdraw currency from circulation to control inflation.
  • 。
    Zhè xiē bāo zi yǐ jīng huí le liǎng cì lóng le.
    These buns have been steamed again twice already.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

回huíreturn
笼lóngbasket

'回' (return) and '笼' (basket) combine to mean putting something back into its container, such as currency leaving circulation.

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.

Open 回 →

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 籠; 笼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
𥫗Written in full as竹zhú
Sound part声符shēngfú
龍
龍lóng籠lóng
Same sound today

The traditional form 籠 is built from 竹 (bamboo) and 龍, which gives the sound. The simplified 笼 is a later shorthand.

Open 笼 →

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