帰る

帰る

See also: 歸る

Japanese

Kanji in this term
帰
かえ Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
歸る (kyūjitai) 還る

Etymology

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *kapyaru.

Cognate with 返る (kaeru, “to return”), by extension of returning to one's home.[1][2]

Compare 帰す (kaesu, “to send someone home”, transitive).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
• (Tokyo) か​える [káꜜèrù] (Atamadaka – [1])[1][3]
• IPA^(key): [ka̠e̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

• Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of "帰る"

Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形)	帰る	か​える	[káꜜèrù]
Imperative (命令形)	帰れ	か​えれ	[káꜜèrè]
Key constructions
Passive	帰られる	かえられ​る	[kàéráréꜜrù]
Causative	帰らせる	かえらせ​る	[kàéráséꜜrù]
Potential	帰れる	かえれ​る	[kàéréꜜrù]
Volitional	帰ろう	かえろ​ー	[kàéróꜜò]
Negative	帰らない	かえら​ない	[kàéráꜜnàì]
Negative perfective	帰らなかった	かえら​なかった	[kàéráꜜnàkàttà]
Formal	帰ります	かえりま​す	[kàérímáꜜsù]
Perfective	帰った	か​えった	[káꜜèttà]
Conjunctive	帰って	か​えって	[káꜜèttè]
Hypothetical conditional	帰れば	か​えれば	[káꜜèrèbà]

Verb

帰(かえ)る • (kaeru) ^{←かへる (kaferu)?} intransitive godan (stem 帰(かえ)り (kaeri), past 帰(かえ)った (kaetta), kyūjitai 歸る)

Japanese verb pair
active	帰(かえ)す
mediopassive	帰(かえ)る

1. to go home, return
   • 1987 March 20 [Feb 20 1987], Fujiko Fujio, “じじぬき [No Longer Old Man]”, in カンビュセスの籤(くじ) [Cambyses’s Drawing] (藤子不二雄 ＳＦ全短編; 1), volume 1 (fiction), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Chuokoronsha, →ISBN, 第三章, page 814:

     かわいい子(こ)よ　孫(まご)よ　おじいちゃんは今(いま)帰(かえ)るぞーっ！

     Kawaī ko yo mago yo O-jī-chan wa ima kaeru zō'!

     My dear children and grandchildren, I’m coming home!

2. to leave, walk away
3. (baseball) to get to home plate

Conjugation

Conjugation of "帰る" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	帰ら	かえら	kaera
Continuative (連用形)	帰り	かえり	kaeri
Terminal (終止形)	帰る	かえる	kaeru
Attributive (連体形)	帰る	かえる	kaeru
Hypothetical (仮定形)	帰れ	かえれ	kaere
Imperative (命令形)	帰れ	かえれ	kaere
Key constructions
Passive	帰られる	かえられる	kaerareru
Causative	帰らせる 帰らす	かえらせる かえらす	kaeraseru kaerasu
Potential	帰れる	かえれる	kaereru
Volitional	帰ろう	かえろう	kaerō
Negative	帰らない	かえらない	kaeranai
Negative continuative	帰らず	かえらず	kaerazu
Formal	帰ります	かえります	kaerimasu
Perfective	帰った	かえった	kaetta
Conjunctive	帰って	かえって	kaette
Hypothetical conditional	帰れば	かえれば	kaereba

Classical conjugation of "帰る" (ラ行四段活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	帰ら	かへら	kafera
Continuative (連用形)	帰り	かへり	kaferi
Terminal (終止形)	帰る	かへる	kaferu
Attributive (連体形)	帰る	かへる	kaferu
Realis (已然形)	帰れ	かへれ	kafere
Imperative (命令形)	帰れ	かへれ	kafere
Key constructions
Negative	帰らず	かへらず	kaferazu
Contrasting conjunction	帰れど	かへれど	kaferedo
Causal conjunction	帰れば	かへれば	kafereba
Conditional conjunction	帰らば	かへらば	kaferaba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	帰りき	かへりき	kaferiki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	帰りけり	かへりけり	kaferikeri
Perfect tense (conscious action)	帰りつ	かへりつ	kaferitu
Perfect tense (natural event)	帰りぬ	かへりぬ	kaferinu
Perfect-continuative tense	帰れり 帰りたり	かへれり かへりたり	kafereri kaferitari
Volitional	帰らむ	かへらむ	kaferamu

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 帰(かえ)り (kaeri)
• 帰(かえ)りなんいざ (kaerinan iza)
• 帰(かえ)るさ (kaeru sa)
• 帰(かえ)るさま (kaeru sama)
• 帰(かえ)る朝(あした) (kaeru ashita)
• 帰(かえ)る雁(かり) (kaeru kari)
• 神(かみ)帰(かえり)月(づき), 神(かみ)帰(かえ)り月(づき) (kamikaeri-zuki)
• 立(たち)帰(かえ)る, 立(た)ち帰(かえ)る (tachikaeru)
• 燕(つばめ)帰(かえ)る (tsubame kaeru)
• 鳥(とり)帰(かえ)る (tori kaeru)
• 逃(にげ)帰(かえ)る, 逃(に)げ帰(かえ)る (nigekaeru)
• 持(もち)帰(かえ)る, 持(も)ち帰(かえ)る (mochikaeru)
• 行(ゆ)き帰(かえ)る (yukikaeru), 行(ゆ)き帰(がえ)る (yukigaeru)
• 行(ゆ)くも帰(かえ)るもの関(せき) (Yuku-mo Kaeru-mo no Seki)
• 蘇(よみがえ)る, 甦(よみがえ)る (yomigaeru, “to reincarnate”)

Idioms

Idioms

• 帰(かえ)らぬ旅(たび) (kaeranu tabi, “never-returning journey” → “dying”)
• 帰(かえ)らぬ人(ひと) (kaeranu hito, “person that never returns” → “a dead person”)
• 帰(かえ)らぬ路(みち) (kaeranu michi, “never-returning road” → “dying”)
• 帰(かえ)らぬ昔(むかし) (kaeranu mukashi, “never-returning past” → “unrepeatable past”)

Proverbs

Proverbs

• 宝(たから)の山(やま)に入(い)りながら手(て)を空(むな)しくして帰(かえ)る (takara no yama ni irinagara te o munashikushite kaeru, “returning to a mountain of treasure in vain” → “missed opportunity”)
• 錦(きん)衣(い)を着(き)て故(こ)郷(きょう)に帰(かえ)る (kin'i o kite kokyō ni kaeru, “wearing a brocade and going home” → “promoted and going home”)
• 行(ゆ)きは良(よ)い良(よ)い帰(かえ)りは恐(こわ)い (yuki wa yoiyoi kaeri wa kowai, “going is easy but returning is hard or scary” → “no guarantees returning”)
• 行(ゆ)き大(だい)名(みょう)の帰(かえ)り乞(こ)食(じき) (yuki daimyō no kaeri kojiki, “go as a daimyo, return as a beggar” → “fruitless waste”)
• 落(らっ)花(か)枝(えだ)に帰(かえ)らず (rakka eda ni kaerazu, “a branch of fallen flowers never return” → “a parted husband and wife do not return”)
• 落(らっ)花(か)枝(えだ)に帰(かえ)らず破(は)鏡(きょう)再(ふたた)び照(て)らさず (rakka eda ni kaerazu hakyō futatabi terasazu, “a branch of fallen flowers never return, a broken mirror does not shine again” → “a parted husband and wife do not return”)

See also

• 戻(もど)る (modoru, “to turn back, return”)

References

1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
2. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN