回顧|かいこkaiko[1]atamadaka (head-high)

Common
Definitions
  1. suru verb, transitive verb, no-adjectiverecollecting; reminiscing; looking back; retrospection; review
    The old man spent most of his time looking back on his youth.
Conjugation
Dictionary form回顧する(かいこする)
Polite (masu)回顧します(かいこします)
Negative (nai)回顧しない(かいこしない)
polite (masen)回顧しません(かいこしません)
classical zu / nu回顧せず・回顧せぬ(かいこせず・かいこせぬ)
Past (ta)回顧した(かいこした)
polite (mashita)回顧しました(かいこしました)
Past negative (nakatta)回顧しなかった(かいこしなかった)
polite (masen deshita)回顧しませんでした(かいこしませんでした)
Te form回顧して(かいこして)
Potential回顧できる(かいこできる)
Passive回顧される(かいこされる)
Causative回顧させる(かいこさせる)
Causative passive回顧させられる(かいこさせられる)
Conditional (ba)回顧すれば(かいこすれば)
tara回顧したら(かいこしたら)
Volitional回顧しよう(かいこしよう)
polite (mashou)回顧しましょう(かいこしましょう)
Imperative回顧しろ(かいこしろ)

Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.

Synonyms & antonyms
  • Synonym回想かいそうNeutralRecalling scenes from one's own experience as they surface in the mind; 「回顧」 is more formal, typically reviewing a period of history or a life, as in 「回顧録」.
  • Synonym追憶ついおくWrittenWritten: recollecting the past, often with fondness — the departed or the past in general; more lyrical than 「回顧」, rarely for objective summaries.
  • Synonym想起そうきWrittenWritten: recalling something from before, stressing the act of a memory being called up; 「回顧」 is a deliberate look back over a stretch of the past.
  • Synonym追想ついそうWrittenWritten, close to 「追憶」: recalling days gone by with longing; carries more nostalgia than 「回顧」.
  • Synonym顧みるかえりみるWrittenWritten verb: looking back on and reflecting on one's past, also caring for or heeding — mostly in the negative, as in 「家庭を顧みない」.
  • Synonym思い出すおもいだすNeutralThe everyday verb for remembering, including things once forgotten; 「回顧」 is a conscious look back at a stretch of one's past.
  • SynonymしのぶWrittenWritten verb: remembering the departed or the past with deep feeling, as in 「故人を偲ぶ」; 「回顧」 is a more detached look back, not necessarily emotional.
  • Synonym追懐ついかいWrittenWritten, archaic and rather rare: cherishing the memory of people or things from the past; 「回顧」 does not necessarily carry nostalgia.
  • Synonym回視かいしWrittenExtremely rare written word: looking back, but also looking around; for everyday recalling of the past say 「回顧」 or 「振り返る」.
  • Related振り返るふりかえるNeutralEveryday verb, the most common: looking back on and reflecting on the past, also turning one's head, as in 「一年を振り返る」; 「回顧」 leans written.
  • Related思い起こすおもいおこすNeutralVerb: deliberately calling a memory to mind, as in 「当時を思い起こす」; can also mean pulling oneself together. More colloquial than 「回顧」.
  • Related思い浮かべるおもいうかべるNeutralVerb: picturing a scene in the mind, whether a memory or imagination; in its recalling sense 「回顧」 only looks back on the past, never imagines.
  • Related思い返すおもいかえすNeutralVerb: thinking over the past again, but also reconsidering or changing one's mind — a meaning 「回顧」 lacks.
  • Antonym展望てんぼうNeutralAntonym: gazing far off or looking ahead at how things will go, the opposite of 「回顧」's look at the past; the two pair as 「回顧と展望」.

「回顧」 is the formal choice for reviewing history or a life, as in 「回顧録」. For personal recollection use 「回想」, for everyday looking back 「振り返る」, and for simply remembering 「思い出す」; the opposite, looking ahead, is 「展望」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

Japanese definitions
  1. 過去かこを振り返ふりかえること。
  2. 後うしろを振り返ふりかえること。
Kanji in this word
See also

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