康复 (kāng fù) — to recover (health), to recuperate

Definition

康复 focuses on recovering health after illness or injury, often under medical care. 恢复 is broader — health, function, or any previous state; 休养 emphasizes rest and recuperation.

verb
to recover (health)to recuperate

Examples

  • 康复
    Jīng guò jǐ gè yuè de zhì liáo, tā zhōng yú kāng fù le.
    After several months of treatment, he finally recovered.
  • 康复
    Yī shēng jiàn yì tā duō xiū xi, zhè yàng néng gèng kuài kāng fù.
    The doctor advised her to rest more so she could recover faster.
  • 康复
    kāng fù Zhī hòu, tā chóng xīn kāi shǐ le gōng zuò.
    After recovering, he started working again.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

kānghealth
again

The parts 康 (health) and 复 (again) combine to express becoming healthy again.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

康 pairs 庚 (threshing tools) with 米 (rice), showing rice being processed into chaff.

Open 康 →

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 復; 复 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 复 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (复习, 恢复) it is 復; in others (复印, 复杂) (答复, 反复) it is 複 or 覆.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
chìwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

The traditional form 復 combines 彳, a walking part, with 复, a sound part, to show walking back and forth.

Open 复 →

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