The word 回来 is formed by combining two pictographic characters that visually and conceptually describe a complete action of return. The first character, 回, originally depicted a spiral or enclosed path, evoking the idea of circling back or reversing direction. The second character, 来, is a simplified pictograph of a wheat plant, historically used to mean "to come" or movement toward the speaker. Together, they sequentially depict first the turning back (回) and then the ensuing arrival at the starting point (来), creating an intuitive, directional compound meaning "to come back".