归 (guī) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

归

guī[gui1]Tone 1

to return

HSK 4

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歸

Guru Deep Dive

English · to return

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:5

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left side compact and slightly elevated, while the right side (zhǐ) extends downward with a sweeping vertical or falling stroke to maintain a stable base.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 歸 was simplified to 归 by standardizing the right-side phonetic component to 𠕁 (jì) and streamlining the left-hand stop radical.

1. Meaning

to return, to go back to

to give back toto belong toto gather togetherto marry (of a woman, old usage)

VerbNeutral#movement#ownership#relationships

Sample Usage

我明天回家。
Wǒ míngtiān huí jiā.
I am going back home tomorrow.
这本书归你。
Zhè běn shū guī nǐ.
This book belongs to you.

2. Sound

/[kweɪ̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

归

guīgui1

¯(55)

=guī

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Velar

Sounds like: g sound as in 'go'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air (sounds like 'c' in Vietnamese 'cá' or 'k' in English 'skate').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue raises against the soft palate to block air briefly before releasing with voice.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with '-way' in English

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'way'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: ui is short for uei

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, similar to sustaining a musical note at the top of your vocal range without any rise or fall.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the diphthong ending with an '-un' or '-uan' sound; ensure you pronounce the distinct 'ei' vowel glide at the end.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Hold your hand flat at eye level, moving it steadily in a straight horizontal line to represent the high flat level pitch.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 5 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left side compact and slightly elevated, while the right side (zhǐ) extends downward with a sweeping vertical or falling stroke to maintain a stable base.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 歸 was simplified to 归 by standardizing the right-side phonetic component to 𠕁 (jì) and streamlining the left-hand stop radical.

4. Components

Radical 止 · Stop Radical (foot, to stop)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 止 (indicates foot movement, walking to a destination)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 𠕁 (original sound: gui)

A foot (止) travels away and finally comes back to a resting point, guided by the phonetic structure.

止 foot / stop
𠕁 phonetic clue for the 'gui' sound

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 归 (guī)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted a person with a foot turning back from a journey, later standardized as a combination of a foot radical (止) and a phonetic element indicating return.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical act of turning back home, the meaning broadened to ownership (things coming back to their rightful owner) and responsibilities being assigned.

In ancient times, marrying off a daughter was referred to as 'returning' (归) because a bride traditionally joined her husband's household.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: キ (ki) / Kun: かえ.る (kae.ru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

귀

Sound Shift Bridge: The historical velar initial and front vowel glides show parallel phonetic traits in neighboring East Asian borrowing traditions.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Your FOOT (止) starts walking, but after traveling far, it makes a U-turn and decides to GUY-rate (guī) straight back home to return.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

旧

jiùold, formerUses a vertical stroke variant on top instead of the foot radical.

扫

sǎoto sweepReplaces the left side with a hand radical (扌).

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

旧(jiù)

旧 means 'old' and lacks the bottom-right extension of the 归 character.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

下班以后，我要快点[___]家。

Clue: guī

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the spatial layout with top-down characters; 归 is distinctly a left-right structured character.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 归, what tone and primary English meaning come to mind?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to return' (guī) with 5 strokes?

归guīto return

Speed:

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