帰
JLPT N4
Return
Readings
On’yomi: キ (ki)
Kun’yomi: かえ(る) (kae(ru))
• かえ.る (kaeru) – to return (intransitive)
• かえ.す (kaesu) – to return something (transitive)
Structure
Composition:
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Detailed Explanation
Vocabulary
帰る
かえる
to return
帰国
きこく
return to country
帰宅
きたく
return home
日帰り
ひがえり
day trip
帰省
きせい
homecoming
Example Sentences
家に帰ります。
いえ に かえります。
I return home.
来月日本に帰国します。
らいげつ にほん に きこく します。
I will return to Japan next month.
夜遅く帰宅しました。
よる おそく きたく しました。
I returned home late at night.
日帰り旅行です。
ひがえり りょこう です。
It is a day trip.
夏に実家へ帰省します。
なつ に じっか へ きせい します。
I go back to my parents’ home in summer.
Cultural Note
🏠 帰 is culturally significant in Japan:
• Returning home is central to Japanese life; family bonds are strong, and daily 帰宅 (returning home) is ritualized.
• Special occasions like お盆 or 正月 (New Year) involve 帰省 (returning to hometowns), emphasizing family and tradition.
• The kanji also appears in idiomatic expressions:
o 帰る場所 – “a place to return to” (comfort, home)
o 家に帰るとほっとする – “I feel relieved when I get home”
• It embodies both physical return and emotional attachment to “home” or origin.
• Returning home is central to Japanese life; family bonds are strong, and daily 帰宅 (returning home) is ritualized.
• Special occasions like お盆 or 正月 (New Year) involve 帰省 (returning to hometowns), emphasizing family and tradition.
• The kanji also appears in idiomatic expressions:
o 帰る場所 – “a place to return to” (comfort, home)
o 家に帰るとほっとする – “I feel relieved when I get home”
• It embodies both physical return and emotional attachment to “home” or origin.