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 character 绕 (traditional 繞) is a phono-semantic compound. Its left component, the silk radical 纟 (traditional 糸, mì), provides the core meaning related to threads or cords. The right component, 尧 (traditional 堯, yáo), serves as the phonetic element, indicating the pronunciation. Originally, the word described winding a thread or flexible cord around something. This sense of physical coiling naturally extended to mean moving in a circular path, making a detour, or navigating around an obstacle, covering both literal travel and abstract problem-solving.

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