回顾
huígù · HSK 5
review
🔄 回 = return + 顾 = look; returning to look = review
回 means return or turn back (think 回 as a mouth-in-mouth shape, going back inward). 顾 means to look at or consider. Together: returning your gaze to something = looking back, reviewing.
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.
顾 — page 頁 + cliff 厃 (phonetic 雇)
顧 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 頁 (head) gives the meaning of turning the head to look back, while 雇 supplies the sound. The original sense was 'to turn and gaze,' which extended to 'consider, care for, attend to.' The simplified form 顾 keeps the same structure with 页.