Chinese word dictionary

追本溯源

zhuī běn sù yuán · to trace sth back to its origin

Practice word

Word information

Simplified追本溯源

Traditional追本溯源

Pinyinzhuī běn sù yuán

Part of speechDictionary

HSK 3.0Not listed

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

追zhuī

to pursue, to chase after; to expel

本běn

root, origin, source; basis

溯sù

to paddle upstream, to go against the current; to trace the source; formerly

源yuán

spring; source, root, head; surname

How to learn 追本溯源

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

本běn

(bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this; (bound form) this; the current (year etc); (bound form) original; (bound form) inherent; originally; initially; capital; principal; classifier for books, periodicals, files etc

本běn

root; stem; origin; source; this

本子běnzi

book; notebook; Japanese-style self-published comic (esp. an erotic one), aka "dōjinshi"; CL:本[ben3]; edition

笔记本bǐjìběn

notebook (stationery) (CL:本[ben3]); (computing) laptop; notebook (abbr. for 筆記本電腦|笔记本电脑[bi3 ji4 ben3 dian4 nao3])

课本kèběn

textbook; CL:本[ben3]

本科běnkē

undergraduate course; undergraduate (attributive)