退
tuì · HSK 3
retreat
🚶♂️ 退 = 辶 (walk) + 艮 (stop/turn back) — walking backward
The 辶 radical means 'walk/go' and 艮 carries a sense of stopping or turning back. Together: movement in reverse — retreat, retire, withdraw. Same character covers tides ebbing and prices declining.
退 — walk radical 辶 + 艮 (stop/halt)
退 combines the walking/movement radical 辶 with 艮, which carries a sense of stopping or turning back. Together they depict the action of moving backward or withdrawing. The original sense of retreating or stepping back has remained stable through history.