復

Originally written as 复, already seen in oracle bone inscriptions.

The early form shows a walled enclosure (suggesting a settlement) combined with an inverted 止 (“to stop, to step”), evoking the idea of leaving the gate and then coming back.

In bronze script, 彳 (“to walk”) was added, while 止 evolved into 夂 (“to follow, to come after”), reinforcing the sense of “movement and return.”

Thus the character functions as a pictorial compound: “to go out and then come back.”

Over time, the meaning expanded to “restore, recover” and to the adverbial sense “again.”

Semantic range:

- to return, to come back;

- to restore, to recover (health, state, condition);

- to repeat, again, once more;

- by extension: to reply, to respond.

회복 (回復) – recovery, restoration

부활 (復活) – resurrection, revival

부흥 (復興) – revival, restoration, renaissance

반복 (反復) – repetition

복원 (復元) – restoration, reconstruction

복구 (復舊) – recovery, repair, restoration

복수 (復讐) – revenge, retaliation