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叶落归根
葉落歸根
yèluòguīgēn
1. a falling leaf returns to the roots (idiom); everything has its ancestral home
2. In old age, an expatriate longs to return home.

Character Breakdown

叶
yè
leaf, page; surname
HSK 4 5 丶
落
luò
to fall, to drop; surplus, net income
HSK 4 12 丶
归
guī
to return, to go back; to return to, to revert
HSK 5 5 丶
根
gēn
root, basis, foundation
HSK 3 10 丶

Compound Words (1)

树高千丈，叶落归根
shùgāoqiānzhàng,yèluòguīgēn
fig. a tree may grow a thousand zhang high, but its leaves return to their roots (proverb)

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Chinese