退休
tuìxiū · HSK 3
to go into retirement
👴🏖️ 退休 = retreat + rest; step back from work into rest
退 means retreat or withdraw, 休 means rest (a person 亻 leaning on a tree 木). Together: withdraw into rest — i.e. retire. The 亻+木 etymology of 休 is a classic decomposition worth remembering on its own.
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.