Chinese symbol for “return”
回来
huí lai
Traditional: 回來
to return; to come back
The closest CC-CEDICT match for return is 回来 (huí lai), defined as: to return; to come back.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “return”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 归 (歸) | guī | to return; to go back to |
| 回去 | huí qu | to return; to go back |
| 回报 (回報) | huí bào | (in) return; reciprocation |
| 归来 (歸來) | guī lái | to return; to come back |
| 返 | fǎn | to return (to) |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 回来.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 回到 | huí dào | to return to |
| 回家 | huí jiā | to return home |
| 回答 | huí dá | to reply; to answer; reply; answer |
| 回应 (回應) | huí yìng | to respond; response |
| 回去 | huí qu | to return; to go back |
| 起来 (起來) | qǐ lai | to stand up; to get up; also pr. [qi3lai2] |
| 出来 (出來) | chū lái | to come out; to appear |
| 来自 (來自) | lái zì | to come from (a place); From: (in email header) |
See also: Japanese symbol for “return”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.