回来
huí lái
回来 is not coming back. It is being brought back to where it belongs
The picture An arrow that leaves and lands exactly where it started. The origin is also the destination.
Where the picture shows up in 回来
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a person back in place
他出差了,下周才回来。
tā chūchāi le, xià zhōu cái huí lái
He's away on business, back next week at the earliest.
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a thing brought back
你顺路把我的伞拿回来。
nǐ shùnlù bǎ wǒ de sǎn ná huí lái
Grab my umbrella on your way back, would you?
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money that won't come back
借出去的钱要不回来了。
jiè chū qù de qián yào bu huí lái le
I'm not getting that loan back.
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recovering what was lost
文件删了还能找回来吗?
wénjiàn shān le hái néng zhǎo huí lái ma
I deleted the file — can it still be recovered?
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a life pulled back
病人抢救回来了。
bìngrén qiǎngjiù huí lái le
We managed to bring the patient back.
回来 comes back toward here. Sending something back the other way is 回去, as in 电话打回去.