回忆 meaning in English

huíyì

to recall; memories

HSK 5verbTraditional 回憶10 strokes

Meaning of 回忆

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

huíyì

to recall
memories

Measure word: 個|个

How to use 回忆

回忆 works as a verb meaning to recall or look back on, and also as a noun meaning memories, often fond or emotional ones. It is common in writing and in talk about childhood or past experiences. Example: 这是我最美好的回忆。(Zhè shì wǒ zuì měihǎo de huíyì.) This is my most beautiful memory.

回 (huí) means to go back, and 忆 (yì) has the heart radical 忄, so 回忆 is your heart going back to the past. Picture your mind turning around to look at old times.

Common mistake: Learners often use 回忆 for everyday remembering, like remembering a phone number, but that is 记得 (jìde) or 想起来 (xiǎng qǐlái). 回忆 is for looking back on past experiences, not recalling simple facts.

回忆 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

感gǎn谢xiè那nà些xiē回huí忆yì。

Thanks for the memories.

每měi次cì听tīng到dào这zhè首shǒu歌gē，都dū会huì让ràng我wǒ回huí忆yì起qǐ自zì己jǐ年nián轻qīng的de时shí候hòu。

When I hear that song I remember my youth.

我wǒ不bù愿yuàn意yì勾gōu起qǐ久jiǔ远yuǎn的de回huí忆yì。

I don't want to stir up old memories.

这zhè首shǒu歌gē勾gōu起qǐ了le我wǒ童tóng年nián的de回huí忆yì。

This song reminds me of my childhood.

每měi当dāng我wǒ看kàn著zhù这zhè张zhāng照zhào片piān, 我wǒ就jiù回huí忆yì起qǐ那nà些xiē在zài乡xiāng村cūn幸xìng福fú的de日rì子zi。

Whenever I look at this picture, I remember those happy days in the village.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

回 huí · to go back · 6 strokes

忆 yì · to remember · 4 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 回忆.

回来	huílái	to return; to come back
回家	huí jiā	to return home
回去	huíqù	to return; to go back
回到	huídào	to return to
回答	huídá	to reply; to answer; reply; answer
回国	huí guó	to return to one's home country
收回	shōuhuí	to regain; to retake
回复	huífù	to recover; to revert; to return to (good health, normal condition etc); variant of 回覆[hui
记忆	jìyì	to remember; to recall; memory
回头	huítóu	to turn round; to turn one's head; later; by and by
返回	fǎnhuí	to return to; to come (or go) back
回报	huíbào	(in) return; reciprocation

Questions about 回忆

What does 回忆 mean?

回忆 (huíyì) means "to recall; memories" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 回忆?

回忆 is made of 2 characters: 回 (6 strokes), 忆 (4 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.

Is 回忆 an HSK word?

Yes. 回忆 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 回忆 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 回忆 is written 回憶.

What is the difference between 回忆 and 记忆?

记忆 (jìyì) is memory in general, including the ability to remember, as in 记忆力 (memory power). 回忆 focuses on the act of looking back or on specific memories of past events.

Can 回忆 take an object?

Yes. As a verb it can take what you recall, for example 回忆童年 (huíyì tóngnián), to recall one's childhood. You can also say 回忆起 to mean starting to recall something.