循

xún
verb #13,902

Meanings

  1. 1 to follow; to adhere to; to comply with

Examples

HSK 6
Xuèyè zài shēntǐ lǐ xúnhuán.
Blood circulates in the body.
HSK 7-9
Wǒmen yào xúnxù-jiànjìn de xuéxí.
We should learn step by step.

Tips

usage
循 is in 循环 (to circulate/cycle), 循序渐进 (step by step), 遵循 (to follow/abide by), and 恶性循环 (vicious cycle).

Components

radical
彳 chì
step (radical form)
Step radical on the left - a small footstep, the left half of 行. Indexes 循 in the walking-and-following family with 往 go, 待 wait, 徐 slowly. Marks the character as a verb of movement along a path: to follow, to trace, to comply with an established route.
phonetic
盾 dùn
shield
Right side 盾 supplies the sound through a sizeable drift: dùn → xún. 盾 alone pictures a shield raised in defence; here purely sonic, the protective meaning plays no part. The phonetic series is small but its presence cleanly distinguishes 循 from its near-homophone 寻 (to search).

Stroke Order

循 xún