Definitions

1. 1. fig. a tree may grow a thousand zhang high, but its leaves return to their roots (proverb)
2. 2. fig. everything has its ancestral home
3. 3. in old age, an expatriate returns home

Components

• 树 shù – tree
• 高 Gāo – surname Gao
• 千 qiān – thousand
• 丈 zhàng – measure of length, ten Chinese feet (3.3 m)
• 叶落归根 yè luò guī gēn – a falling leaf returns to the roots (idiom); everything has its ancestral home