徊

huái

used in 徘徊[pai2 huai2]

footsteps (彳) + circle back (回) = lingering, wandering in loops

彳 marks movement on foot, and 回 means to go back or circle around. Together they paint the image of someone pacing back and forth, unable to leave.

彳+回→徊

回To returnSemantic

彳A half-stepSemantic

他在门口徘徊，不知道该不该进去。

tā zài mén kǒu pái huái, bù zhī dào gāi bù gāi jìn qù。

he was lingering at the doorway, not knowing whether he should go in or not.

她在这个决定面前徘徊了很久，始终下不了决心。

tā zài zhè ge jué dìng miàn qián pái huái le hěn jiǔ, shǐ zhōng xià bù liǎo jué xīn。

she hesitated over this decision for a long time and could never make up her mind.

徘徊

pái huái

to pace back and forth