HSK 4 · Verbs

回忆 huíyì “to recall” in Chinese

Traditional 回憶

What 回忆 means

  1. to recall
  2. memories

Measure word 个 gè · 一个回忆 yí ge huíyì

How to say 回忆

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale回huí2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale忆yì4th tone, falling

回忆 in a sentence

  1. 这首歌勾起了我童年的回忆。

    Zhè shǒu gē gōuqǐ le wǒ tóngnián de huíyì.

    This song reminds me of my childhood.

    Sentence #422006 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  2. 我不愿意勾起久远的回忆。

    Wǒ bú yuànyì gōuqǐ jiǔyuǎn de huíyì.

    I don’t want to stir up old memories.

    Sentence #9518683 from Tatoeba

  3. 感谢那些回忆。

    Gǎnxiè nàxiē huíyì.

    Thanks for the memories.

    Sentence #502347 from Tatoeba

How 回忆 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 回 (huí) with each of its parts in a different colour
回huíto go back; to return; to turn back
  • 囗enclosure · wéi
  • 口mouth · kǒu

Memory aidOne square inside another, like going round and coming back: to return.

The character 忆 (yì) with each of its parts in a different colour
忆yìto recollect
  • 忄heart form of 心 · xīnMeaning part
  • 乙second (cyclical) · yǐSound part

忄 hints at the meaning (heart); 乙 (yǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with yì.

How to write 回忆

回 6 strokes · 忆 4 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

回忆 (huíyì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 回忆 (huíyì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 回忆

Words with 回

回huí · to return回来huílai · to return回去huíqu · to return回答huídá · to reply回顾huígù · to look back回避huíbì · to avoid挽回wǎnhuí · to retrieve回报huíbào · to repay回收huíshōu · to recycle

Words with 忆

记忆jìyì · to remember

More words: Thinking & Talking

敢gǎn · to dare感觉gǎnjué · feeling感谢gǎnxiè · (express) thanks怀疑huáiyí · to doubt建议jiànyì · to propose计划jìhuà · plan交流jiāoliú · to exchange解释jiěshì · explanation

FAQs

回忆 (huíyì) means “to recall” or “memories”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it huíyì: huí with a 2nd tone, then yì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 回忆 is written 回憶. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one to recall is 一个回忆 (yí ge huíyì).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type huiyi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 回忆 from the suggestions. Typing huiyi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
回忆 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.