返校 (fǎn jiào) — to return to school (after a vacation or break)

Definition

返校 is a separable verb meaning 'return to school' after a break — between 返 and 校, you can insert 了 or a measure phrase (返了一次校).

verb
to return to school (after a vacation or break)

Examples

  • 返校。
    Tóng xué men dōu zài zhǔn bèi fǎn jiào.
    The students are all preparing to return to school.
  • 。
    Tā hán jià hòu zhī fǎn le yí cì xiào.
    After winter break, he only returned to school once.
  • 返校。
    Xià zhōu yī wǒ men jiù yào fǎn jiào le.
    We'll be returning to school next Monday.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

返fǎnreturn
校xiàoschool

返 means return and 校 means school, together giving the act of returning to school.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòmovement
Sound part声符shēngfú
反
反fǎn返fǎn
Same sound today

返 pairs 辶 (movement) with 反 (sound, with the sense of returning); the whole character originally meant coming back along the path one came from.

Open 返 →

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
交
交jiāo校jiào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

校 is built from 木 (tree) on the left and 交 on the right, which supplies the sound.

Open 校 →
Appears in
School & Education

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.