退回
tuì huí · HSK 7
to return
📦↩️ 退回 = 退 retreat + 回 back; send the package back the way it came
退 means to retreat or withdraw; 回 means to go back or return. Together they mean to send something back to where it came from, like returning a delivered item.
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.
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.