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敗子回頭

简败子回头 · 繁敗子回頭

Mandarin · pinyin bài zǐ huí tóu

return of the prodigal son

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Characters in this entry

敗: Look up this written character
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
回: huí · return, turn around; a time
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
败: bài · be defeated, decline, fail
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–3–2–2 · bai4 zi3 hui2 tou2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

敗子回頭 · find source passages ↗ · 败子回头 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) return of the prodigal son

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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