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迷途知返

Mandarin · pinyin mí tú zhī fǎn

to get back on the right path
to mend one's ways

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Characters in this entry

迷: mí · bewitch, charm, infatuate
途: tú · way, road, path, journey; course
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
返: fǎn · return, revert to, restore

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–3 · mi2 tu2 zhi1 fan3

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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.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

mai4 tou4 zi1 faan2

Cantonese word readings for 迷途知返. 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 become aware of one's errors and turn back from one's wrong path; to realize one's mistakes and correct oneself

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

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