归 (guī): to return, to go back to, to give back to
归 (guī) is a Chinese character meaning “to return.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 彐 (structural). It ranks #933 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 归 simplified form of 歸; a wife 帚 returning home; 追 provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 彐 (snout) appears in many related characters such as 当 (dāng, (onom.) dong), 录 (lù, to carve wood).
Definitions
- to return
- to go back to
- to give back to
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSimplified form of 歸; a wife 帚 returning home; 追 provides the pronunciation
Stroke Order
Practice writing 归 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 归
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 回归 | huí guī | to return to |
| 归来 | guī lái | to return |
| 归咎 | guī jiù | to put the blame on |
| 归功 | guī gōng | to give credit |
| 归队 | guī duì | to return to one's unit |
| 归宿 | guī sù | place to return to |
| 归于 | guī yú | to belong to |
| 归属 | guī shǔ | to belong to |
| 归罪 | guī zuì | to blame sb |
| 归档 | guī dàng | to file away |
| 总归 | zǒng guī | anyhow |
| 归结 | guī jié | to sum up |
| 归案 | guī àn | to bring to justice |
| 改邪归正 | gǎi xié guī zhèng | to mend one's ways (idiom) |
| 归位 | guī wèi | to put sth back where it belongs |
归 appears in 100 compound words: 62 as the first character, 20 as the last, and 18 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 归 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (30)
to reform; to rehabilitate; to turn over a new leaf; to stop committing evil acts and stay on the straight and narrow
synonym of 歸根結底 /归根结底 (guīgēnjiédǐ, “all in all; ultimately it comes down to”)
to have one's heart set on returning home; to have an urge to return home
to have one's heart set on returning home; to have an urge to return home
to reform; to rehabilitate; to turn over a new leaf; to stop committing evil acts and stay on the straight and narrow
synonym of 歸根結底 /归根结底 (guīgēnjiédǐ, “all in all; ultimately it comes down to”)
Showing 12 of 30 idioms containing 归.
Example Sentences
归字由5笔画组成，结构很巧妙。
guī zì yóu bǐ huà zǔ chéng , jié gòu hěn qiǎo miào .
The character "归" consists of five strokes and has a very clever structure.
归仁跻身全球四大热门趋势旅游目的地之列
guī rén 跻 shēn quán qiú sì dà rè mén qū shì lǚ yóu mù de dì zhī liè
Quy Nhon is among the top 4 trending tourist destinations in the world
...ltra实机曝光、蓝牙S Pen确定不回归
. . . l t r a shí jī pù guāng , lán yá S P e n què dìng bù huí guī
... ltra real machine exposure, Bluetooth S Pen is confirmed not to return
台南“林家肉燥饭”宣布复活回归!网:请继续发光发热
tái nán lín jiā ròu zào fàn xuān bù fù huó huí guī ! wǎng : qǐng jì xù fā guāng fā rè
Tainan's "Lin's Pork Rice" announced its resurrection and return! Net: Please continue to shine
三宝妈圣诞采买后离家未归!24年后现身 子女心情五味杂陈
sān bǎo mā shèng dàn cǎi mǎi hòu lí jiā wèi guī ! 2 4 nián hòu xiàn shēn zǐ nǚ xīn qíng wǔ wèi zá chén
Sanbao's mother left home after buying for Christmas and did not return! Appeared 24 years later, and her children had mixed moods
放年假比上班还累?教你简单4招让身心快速归零
fàng nián jiǎ bǐ shàng bān hái lěi ? jiào nǐ jiǎn dān 4 zhāo ràng shēn xīn kuài sù guī líng
Is annual leave more tiring than going to work? Teach you 4 simple tricks to quickly zero your body and mind
他们把失败归咎于乔治。
Tāmen bǎ shībài guījiù yú Qiáozhì.
They blamed the failure on George.
我的成功要归功于他。
Wǒ de chénggōng yào guīgōng yú tā.
I owe my success to his help.
把你的失败归咎于你的父母是不对的。
Bǎ nǐ de shībài guījiù yú nǐ de fùmǔ shì bù duì de.
It's not fair to attribute your failure to your parents.
庙宇的毁坏有一部分要归因于酸雨。
Miàoyǔ de huǐhuài yǒu yī bùfen yào guīyīn yú suānyǔ.
The decay of the shrine is due, in part, to acid rain.
Character Family
彐 Radical Family — Characters sharing the snout radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 归 (guī) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 归 and 来?
How many strokes does 归 have?
What is the radical of 归?
What are the components of 归?
What are common words containing 归?
What characters sound the same as 归 (guī)?
Is 归 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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