树高千丈，叶落归根

shù gāo qiān zhàng , yè luò guī gēn

Save to list

Definitions

1. fig. a tree may grow a thousand zhang high, but its leaves return to their roots (proverb)
2. fig. everything has its ancestral home

Stop forgetting what you study.
Build recall daily.

Try HanyuGuide's Chinese review system with multiple choice, typed recall, tone-aware practice, and reviews scheduled before memory fades.

Start Free Trial · $49.99 / year

Sign up with Google

Did Google show an error? Sorry about that. Use your email below instead.

Continue with Email

Lifetime for $119.99 Try a practice session

Child Words of 树高千丈，叶落归根

• 千 千 qiān: thousand
• 根 根 gēn: root
• 树 树 shù: tree
• 归 归 guī: to return
• 落 落 là: to leave out
• 落 落 lào: colloquial reading for 落[luò] in certain compounds
• 落 落 luò: to fall or drop
• 高 高 gāo: high
• 丈 丈 zhàng: measure of length, ten Chinese feet (3.3 m)
• 叶 叶 xié: to be in harmony
• 归根 归根 guī gēn: to return home (after a lifetime's absence)
• 叶 叶 yè: leaf
• 叶落归根 叶落归根 yè luò guī gēn: a falling leaf returns to the roots (idiom); everything has its ancestral home