环绕
huánrào · HSK 7
to surround; to circle
💍🔄 环 ring + 绕 wind around = to encircle, loop around something
环 means ring or loop (as in 耳环 earring); 绕 means to wind, coil, or go around. Together 环绕 is what a ring does to a finger or a moon does to a planet: it surrounds and circles it.
环 — jade radical 玉/王 + 睘 (huán phonetic)
环 is a phono-semantic compound. The left side 王 (a form of 玉 'jade') gives the meaning, since the original sense was a circular jade ring worn as an ornament. The right side 睘 supplies the sound 'huán'. From 'jade ring' the meaning broadened to 'ring, loop, encircle,' and in modern Chinese also 'environment' in 环境.
绕 — silk radical 纟 + 尧 (yáo, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 纟 hints at the original meaning of winding or wrapping thread around something, while 尧 supplies the sound (yáo → rào). From 'wind/coil' it extended to 'go around, encircle, detour,' the senses common today.