回顾

• Pinyin: huí gù
• Hanzi breakdown: 回 = to return; 顾 = to look at/consider

Meaning

To look back on; to review; to retrospect. Reflecting on past events or experiences.

Used for reviewing history, reflecting on personal experiences, or summarizing past events. Common in formal reports, year-end summaries, and documentary narration. As a noun, means a review or retrospective.

Examples

1. 让我们先回顾一下上节课的内容。 Let's first review the content from last class.
2. 回顾过去一年，公司取得了很大的进步。 Looking back at the past year, the company has made great progress.
3. 这部纪录片回顾了这位艺术家的一生。 This documentary looks back at the life of this artist.

Usage Guide

Context: academic, business, history, reflection

Tone: reflective

Do Say

• 年终回顾报告已经准备好了。(The year-end review report is ready.)
• 回顾历史，我们能学到很多。(Looking back at history, we can learn a lot.)

Don't Say

• 我回顾了一下冰箱 (回顾 is for reflecting on past events/experiences, not for physically looking at objects — use 看了一下 instead)

Origin & History

Compound of 回 (to return) + 顾 (to look at), meaning to look back.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal