复fù

复

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Simplified · Today

繁体

Traditional Chinese

The traditional form 複 preserves its original logic: the clothing radical 衣 on the left, paired with the phonetic component 复, originally depicted a garment with an inner lining—something layered or doubled. This visual meaning of "doubling" naturally extended to the abstract sense of returning or doing again. The simplified form 复 abandoned the clothing radical for stroke economy, leaving only the phonetic silhouette that once hinted at layered cloth.

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Shuowen

The character 复 consists of a foot element (depicting movement) with a path or road beneath it, together showing a foot stepping back along a road—a pictograph of someone turning around and walking the path in reverse. This original imagery captures the core meaning of returning, going back, or coming again to a starting point. The structure deliberately shows the foot on a path moving in the opposite direction, which is why the character came to mean both literal return and figurative repetition or restoration.

Pinyin

fù· HSK 1

复fù

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin