反思
fǎn sī · HSK 7
to think back over sth
🔄🧠 反 (reverse) + 思 (think) = reverse-thinking, reviewing what happened
Fan means to flip or reverse; si means to think. Together they literally mean to turn your thinking backwards — to reflect on past actions or decisions and reconsider them.
反 — hand 又 under cliff 厂
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) turning something over against a cliff or slope (厂), depicting the action of flipping or reversing. From this came the core meaning 'to turn over,' which extended to 'opposite,' 'contrary,' and 'rebel against.' The character is purely semantic, with no phonetic component.