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言歸正傳

简言归正传 · 繁言歸正傳

Mandarin · pinyin yán guī zhèng zhuàn

to return to the topic (idiom)
to get back to the main point

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Characters in this entry

言: yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
歸: Look up this written character
正: zhèng · right, proper, correct
傳: chuán · summon; propagate, transmit
归: guī · return; return to, revert to
传: chuán · summon; propagate, transmit

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–4 · yan2 gui1 zheng4 zhuan4

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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.

言歸正傳 · find source passages ↗ · 言归正传 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jin4 gwai1 zing3 zyun2

Cantonese word readings for 言歸正傳. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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.

phrase

(idiomatic) to return to the main topic; to go back to business, to finish a digression and get back to the main subject (cf. "retournons à nos moutons")

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

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