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收复 (shōu fù) — to recover (lost territory, etc.), to recapture

Definition

收复 means to recapture or recover lost territory — a military/political verb. Unlike 恢复 (restore a state, health, function), 收复 specifically implies taking back land that was lost or occupied.

verb
to recover (lost territory, etc.)to recapture

Examples

  • 收复。
    Jūn duì zhōng yú shōu fù le zhè zuò chéng shì.
    The army finally recaptured this city.
  • 收复。
    Guó jiā xī wàng tōng guò wài jiāo shǒu duàn shōu fù shī qù de tǔ dì.
    The country hopes to recover lost territory through diplomatic means.
  • ，收复。
    Zhè chǎng zhàn yì zhī hòu, tā men chéng gōng shōu fù le suǒ yǒu shī dì.
    After this battle, they successfully recovered all lost territory.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

收shōuretrieve
复fùrestore

收 retrieves and 复 restores, giving the sense of taking back lost territory.

Characters in this word

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū收shōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

收 uses 攴 to show an action and 丩 as a sound clue; the old meaning was 'to arrest.'

Open 收 →

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
彳彳chìwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
复
复fù復fù
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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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