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环绕 (huán rào) — to surround; to encircle; to revolve around; to orbit

Definition

环绕 is more literary/figurative than 围 — used for both surrounding (village ringed by hills) and revolving (moon around earth). 围绕 focuses on centering around a topic.

verb
to surroundto encircleto revolve aroundto orbit

Examples

  • 环绕。
    Yuè qiú huán rào dì qiú yùn xíng.
    The moon revolves around the earth.
  • 环绕。
    Cūn zi bèi qīng shān huán rào.
    The village is surrounded by green hills.
  • 环绕。
    Yì tiáo xiǎo hé huán rào zhe cūn zi.
    A small stream encircles the village.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

环huáncircle/surround
绕ràosurround

环 and 绕 both mean circle/surround, reinforcing the idea of encircling.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 環; 环 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
睘
睘qióng環huán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 環 pairs 玉 (jade) with a sound part; the simplified 环 is a shorthand and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 环 →

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 繞; 绕 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
堯
堯yáo繞rào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 繞 pairs 糸 (rope) with 堯 as a sound component; the simplified 绕 is a later shorthand.

Open 绕 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Directions

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