借 尸 还 魂

jiè shī huán húndictionary entry

lit. reincarnated in sb else's body (idiom); fig. a discarded or discredited idea returns in another guise

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-19a768dcf6f15809. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

借屍還魂 借尸还魂 [jie4 shi1 huan2 hun2] /lit. reincarnated in sb else's body (idiom); fig. a discarded or discredited idea returns in another guise/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 借屍還魂

借
jiè
to borrow / (used in combination with 給|给[gěi] or 出[chū] etc) to lend / to make use of; to avail oneself of / (sometimes followed by 著|着[zhe]) by; with
尸
shī
(literary) person representing the deceased (during burial ceremonies) / (literary) to put a corpse on display (after execution) / (bound form) corpse
还
hái
still / still in progress / still more / yet / even more / in addition / fairly / passably (good) / as early as / even / also / else
huán
to pay back / to return
Huán
surname Huan
魂
hún
soul; spirit; immortal soul (that can be detached from the body)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.