绕 (rào) — to go around; to circle; to make a detour; to wind; to coil (thread, wire etc.); to confuse; to perplex
Definition
Verb with two distinct senses: physical circling/detour (绕着山走, 绕路) and winding/coiling (绕毛线). For the 'confuse' sense, 困扰 and 困惑 name the resulting state; 绕 is the act of puzzling someone.
verb
to go aroundto circleto make a detourto windto coil (thread, wire etc.)to confuseto perplex
Examples
- 绕。Zhè liàng chē rào zhe xiǎo shān zǒu le yì tiáo jìn lù.This car went around the hill by taking a shortcut.
- 绕。Tā bǎ máo xiàn rào zài shǒu shàng.She wound the knitting yarn around her hand.
- 绕。Tā de wèn tí bǎ wǒ rào zhù le.His question confused me.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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.
Appears in
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