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海歸

简海归 · 繁海歸

Mandarin · pinyin hǎi guī

sb who has come back to China after gaining overseas experience (a pun on 海龜 hǎi guī)
to return to China after a period of study or work overseas

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Characters in this entry

海: hǎi · sea, ocean; maritime
歸: Look up this written character
归: guī · return; return to, revert to

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1 · hai3 gui1

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2character links1same-tone record1source reference

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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.

海歸 · find source passages ↗ · 海归 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

(neologism) haigui; an overseas returnee; one who has studied/lived overseas and returned to China

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

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