Meaning of 归
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to return
- to go back to
- to give back to
- (of a responsibility) to be taken care of by
- to belong to
- to gather together
- (used between two identical verbs) despite
- to marry (of a woman) (old)
- surname Gui
How to use 归
归 is common in set words like 归还 (guīhuán, to give back), 回归 (huíguī, to return to), and 归来 (guīlái, to come back). On its own it often means a duty or item belongs to someone: 这件事归你管。(Zhè jiàn shì guī nǐ guǎn.) This matter is your responsibility.
The simplified 归 has a short vertical stroke pair on the left and 彐 on the right, which looks like a hand. Picture a hand reaching out to bring something back where it belongs, which ties together its meanings of returning and belonging.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side of 归 as 习 or 日 instead of 彐, whose three horizontal strokes all join the vertical on the left side. Also, in everyday speech use 回 (huí) for simply going home, as in 回家, since 归家 sounds literary.
归 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
归 guī · to return · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 归.
| 回归 | huíguī | to return to; to retreat |
| 归来 | guīlái | to return; to come back |
| 无家可归 | wújiā-kěguī | (idiom) homeless |
| 归还 | guīhuán | to return sth; to revert |
| 归宿 | guīsù | place to return to; home |
| 归属 | guīshǔ | to belong to; to be affiliated to |
| 改邪归正 | gǎixié-guīzhèng | to mend one's ways (idiom); to turn over a new leaf |
| 归结 | guījié | to sum up; to conclude; to put in a nutshell; conclusion; end (of a story etc) |
| 归纳 | guīnà | to sum up; to summarize |
| 归根到底 | guīgēn-dàodǐ | after all; in the final analysis |
| 归队 | guīduì | to return to one's unit; to go back to one's station in life |
| 归于 | guīyú | to belong to; affiliated to |
Questions about 归
What does 归 mean?
归 (guī) means "to return; to go back to" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 归?
归 is made of 1 character: 归 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 归 an HSK word?
Yes. 归 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 归 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 归 is written 歸.
What is the difference between 归 and 回?
Both can mean to return, but 回 is the everyday word for going back somewhere. 归 is more formal or literary and adds senses like belonging to someone or being someone's responsibility.
What does 归 mean in a phrase like 说归说?
When 归 sits between two identical verbs, it means despite or although. 说归说，做归做 (shuō guī shuō, zuò guī zuò) means saying is one thing, but doing is another.