返る

返る

Japanese

Kanji in this term
返
かえ Grade: 3
kun’yomi

Alternative forms

• (reverse, turn over; renew; continuative verb suffix): 反る

Etymology

⟨kape₁ru⟩ → */kapʷeru/ → /kaferu/ → /kawʲeru/ → /kaeru/

From Old Japanese.

Appears to be derived from a kape- stem, compare 返す (kaesu, “return”, transitive).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) か​える [káꜜèrù] (Atamadaka – [1])[1][2][3]
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠e̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Verb

返る (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana かえる, rōmaji kaeru, historical hiragana かへる)

Japanese verb pair
active	返す
mediopassive	返る

1. to return, go back
2. to reverse, turn over
   1. to move in the opposite direction
   2. to interchange front and back
3. to change color, fade
4. (of a year) to renew
5. (by extension) to start over
6. suffixed to the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of a verb:
   1. to [verb] completely
   2. to [verb] over and over or repeatedly
      • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 12, poem 2890), text here

        夜 (ぬ)干 (ば)玉 (たま)之 (の)夜 (よ)乎 (を)長 (ながみ)鴨 (かも)吾 (わが)背 (せ)子 (こ)之 (が)夢 (いめ)尓 (に)夢 (いめ)西 (にし)所 (み)見 (え)還 (かへる)良 (ら)武 (む) [Man'yōgana]

        ぬばたまの夜 (よ)を長 (なが)みかもわが背 (せ)子 (こ)が夢 (いめ)に夢 (いめ)にし見 (み)えかへるらむ [Modern spelling]

        nubatama no yo o nagami ka mo waga seko ga ime ni ime ni shi mie-kaeruran

        (please add an English translation of this example)

Conjugation

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

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

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

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

Derived terms

• 帰 (かえ)る, 還 (かえ)る (kaeru, “go home”)
• 孵 (かえ)る (kaeru, “hatch out”)
• 覆 (くつがえ)る (kutsugaeru, “topple”)
• 翻 (ひるがえ)る (hirugaeru, “turn around”)

See also

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

References

1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
2. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
3. 1974, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Second Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō