Fluentide
Fluentide for iOS is out — get the app
HSK 1

回

to return; to go back

verbneutral1 episode
回
huí2nd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
huí
Part of speech
verb
Level
HSK 1
Strokes
6
Register
neutral
In episodes
1

Stroke order for 回

回 is written with 6 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 回 mean?

回 (huí) is the verb 'to return / go back' — directional motion back to a place you came from.

The most common patterns at HSK 1 are 回家 (huí jiā, 'go home'), 回国 (huí guó, 'return to one's country'), and 回学校 (huí xuéxiào, 'go back to school'). Unlike English 'return,' 回 requires a destination after it: you can't say 我回 alone — you say 我回家 'I'm going home.'

Two things to know: first, 回 also works as a measure word for occurrences/times (一回 'one time,' similar to 一次), but at HSK 1 you'll mostly see the verb sense; second, 回 pairs naturally with 来 (lái, 'come') or 去 (qù, 'go') to clarify direction relative to the speaker: 回来 'come back (here),' 回去 'go back (there).' That direction marker is essential in real speech.

Hear 回 in real episodes

回 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

He Asked an AI to Get Him Into a Pilates Class. It Hacked the Gym and Cancelled a Stranger's Booking.回 spoken at natural speedbeginner
Browse the full episode library

Example sentences

我要回家了。

Wǒ yào huí jiā le.

I'm going home now.

spoken

你什么时候回来？

Nǐ shénme shíhòu huí lái?

When are you coming back?

spoken

他明年回国。

Tā míngnián huí guó.

He's returning to his home country next year.

neutral

请你回答我。

Qǐng nǐ huídá wǒ.

Please answer me.

polite

Common phrases with 回

回家huí jiāgo home
回来huí láicome back
回去huí qùgo back
回国huí guóreturn to one's home country
回答huídáto answer; to reply

Synonyms

返回fǎnhuí

返回 is the formal/written word for 'return' — common in signs, announcements, and software UI ('back' buttons). 回 is the everyday spoken verb. You'd say 我回家, not 我返回家.

回去huí qù

回去 specifies direction: going back to a place AWAY from where the speaker is. 我回去 = 'I'm heading back (there).' Plain 回 needs a destination object; 回去 can stand alone.

Don't confuse 回 with

会huì

会 ('can / know how to / will') is one of the most common HSK 1 verbs and sounds similar (huì vs huí). 我会说中文 'I can speak Chinese' vs 我回家 'I'm going home.' Different tones, different characters, completely different meanings.

次cì

Both 回 and 次 can count occurrences ('one time'), but 次 is far more common at HSK 1 and works with all verbs. 一回 sounds slightly more colloquial/storytelling; 一次 is neutral.

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

帮to help别人other people电脑computer坏bad课class, lesson太too, excessively问to ask想to want写to write自己oneself

Acquire it by listening

Meet 回 again — in real Chinese, at your level.

You just saw 回 in 1 episode. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.