叶落归根

yè luò guī gēn

Definitions

1. a falling leaf returns to the roots (idiom); everything has its ancestral home

fig. a tree may grow a thousand zhang high, but its leaves return to their roots (proverb)

root

to return

to leave out

colloquial reading for 落[luò] in certain compounds

to fall or drop

to be in harmony

to return home (after a lifetime's absence)

leaf