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物歸原主

简物归原主 · 繁物歸原主

Mandarin · pinyin wù guī yuán zhǔ

(idiom) to return sth to its rightful owner

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Characters in this entry

物: wù · thing, substance, creature
歸: Look up this written character
原: yuán · source, origin, beginning
主: zhǔ · master, chief owner; host; lord
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

4–1–2–3 · wu4 gui1 yuan2 zhu3

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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.

物歸原主 · find source passages ↗ · 物归原主 · 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) to return something to its owner

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

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