归根结柢

variant of 歸根結底|归根结底[gui1 gen1 jie2 di3]

surname Gui

to return / to go back to / to give back to / (of a responsibility) to be taken care of by / to belong to / to gather together / (used between two identical verbs) despite / to marry (of a woman) (old) / division on the abacus with a one-digit divisor

to return home (after a lifetime's absence) / to go back to one's roots

root / basis / classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings / CL:條|条[tiao2] / radical (chemistry)

(of a plant) to produce (fruit or seeds) / Taiwan pr. [jie2]

knot / sturdy / bond / to tie / to bind / to check out (of a hotel)

foundation / root