绕

繞/遶

rào

尧 + 纟

HSK 2.0Level 5

HSK 3.0Level 5

Definitions

rào (verb) to wind; to coil; to rotate around; to spiral

rào (verb) to go around; to bypass; to make a detour

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 纟 represents the meaning and 尧 represents the sound. Simplified form of 繞.

Semantic: 纟 Phonetic: 尧

About

The Chinese character 绕 (the simplified form of 繞) is a phono-semantic compound. It combines the silk radical 纟 (from 糸, mì) and the sound element 尧 (yáo, from 堯). The silk radical suggests the original meaning involved threads, cords, or flexible strands. Accordingly, the earliest recorded meaning is the physical act of winding, wrapping, or coiling a thread around a central object. From this core image, the character's meaning expanded to cover any circular or bypassing motion: moving around a place, making a detour to avoid something, or, figuratively, finding an indirect way to solve a problem.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我绕过那棵树

Wǒ ràoguò nà kē shù

I go around that tree.

孩子们围绕老师坐

Háizimen wéirào lǎoshī zuò

The children sit around the teacher.

这条路绕道而行

Zhè tiáo lù ràodào ér xíng

This road detours.

绳子缠绕在柱子上

Shéngzi chánrào zài zhùzi shàng

The rope is tangled around the pillar.

我们绕湖走了一圈

Wǒmen rào hú zǒule yī quān

We walked around the lake once.

他绕开话题直接回答

Tā rào kāi huàtí zhíjiē huídá

He avoided the topic and answered directly.

飞机绕城市飞行一周

Fēijī rào chéngshì fēixíng yī zhōu

The airplane flew around the city for one round.

这个问题绕来绕去很复杂

Zhège wèntí rào lái rào qù hěn fùzá

This issue is very complicated as it goes around in circles.

Related Characters

Component: 尧

Component: 纟

绕