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浪子回头金不换

làng zǐ huí tóu jīn bù huàndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
a prodigal son returned home is worth more than gold
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-6d9444fb2869f9c8. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

浪子回頭金不換 浪子回头金不换 [lang4 zi3 hui2 tou2 jin1 bu4 huan4] /a prodigal son returned home is worth more than gold/

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: 浪子回頭金不換

  • 浪
    làng

    wave / breaker / unrestrained / dissipated / to stroll / to ramble

  • 子
    zǐ

    son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / (prefix) sub-

    zi

    noun suffix, as in 椅子[yǐ zi] "chair"

  • 回
    huí

    to go back / to return / to turn back / to turn around / to reply / to answer / classifier for literary divisions (acts of a play, sections or chapters of a classic book) / classifier for occurrences or times / to curve / to return / to revolve

    Huí

    Hui ethnic group (Chinese Muslims)

  • 头
    tóu

    head / hair style / the top / end / beginning or end / a stub / remnant / chief / boss / side / aspect / first / leading / classifier for pigs or livestock / CL:個|个[gè]

    tou

    suffix for nouns

  • 金
    jīn

    gold / chemical element Au / generic term for lustrous and ductile metals / money / golden / highly respected / one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音[bā yīn]

    Jīn

    surname Jin / surname Kim (Korean) / Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234)

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 换
    huàn

    to exchange / to change (clothes etc) / to substitute / to switch / to convert (currency)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.