to recall; memory; recollection
HSK level
回忆 is written with 10 strokes (回: 6, 忆: 4). The animation replays automatically.
回忆 (huíyì) is both a verb, to recall or reminisce, and a noun, a memory or recollection.
As a verb it means to actively bring the past back to mind: 回忆童年 'reminisce about childhood.' As a noun it names the remembered experiences themselves: 美好的回忆 'beautiful memories.' The key difference from English is that 回忆 refers specifically to recollections of lived personal experience — nostalgic, episodic memory — not the general faculty of memory (that's 记忆 jìyì) nor remembering a fact or to-do item (that's 记得 jìde).
So you 回忆 your college days, but you 记得 someone's phone number. Register is neutral and slightly warm, common in speech, writing, and song lyrics. Compare 想起 (to suddenly recall something specific) and 记忆 (memory as a capacity or storage).
Character by character
Memory hook: 回 (return) + 忆 (remember) — your mind returns to remember the past.
这首歌让我回忆起了大学生活。
Zhè shǒu gē ràng wǒ huíyì qǐ le dàxué shēnghuó.
This song makes me reminisce about college life.
spoken
那是我童年最美好的回忆。
Nà shì wǒ tóngnián zuì měihǎo de huíyì.
That's the most beautiful memory of my childhood.
neutral
老人常常回忆年轻时的日子。
Lǎorén chángcháng huíyì niánqīng shí de rìzi.
Old people often reminisce about their younger days.
neutral
他在书中回忆了自己坎坷的一生。
Tā zài shū zhōng huíyì le zìjǐ kǎnkě de yìshēng.
In the book, he recalls his rough and difficult life.
written
记忆 is memory as a faculty or stored content ('good memory,' 'memory storage'). 回忆 is the act of reminiscing or a specific nostalgic recollection. You improve your 记忆; you cherish a 回忆.
想起 means to suddenly recall or think of something specific, often involuntarily. 回忆 is a deliberate, sustained looking-back. You 想起 a name; you 回忆 an era.
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