回避
huí bì · HSK 5
to avoid
🙅↩️ 回 = return/turn back + 避 = avoid; turn back to avoid
回 means to return or circle back (think 回家 return home); 避 means to avoid or shun. Together: to turn back from something, i.e. evade or skirt an issue. 避 shares a root with 避难 (take refuge).
回 — enclosure 囗 + smaller 囗 inside
回 is a pictograph of a swirling whirlpool or coiled spiral, shown as nested squares in modern form. The original meaning was 'to revolve' or 'turn around,' which extended to 'return' and 'a time/occurrence.' It also appears as a phonetic in characters like 茴 and 廻.
避 — 辟 (phonetic) + 辶 (walk radical)
避 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The walking radical 辶 gives the meaning 'go, move,' while 辟 (bì/pì) supplies the sound. Together they convey moving away from something — hence 'avoid, evade, shun.'