戻る|もどるmodoru[2]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Definitions
- godan verb, intransitive verbto turn back (e.g. half-way)
- godan verb, intransitive verbto return; to go backやってしまったことは元に戻らない。↗What is done cannot be undone.
- godan verb, intransitive verbto recover (e.g. something lost); to be returned
- godan verb, intransitive verbto rebound; to spring back
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 戻る（もどる） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 戻ります（もどります） |
| Negative (nai) | 戻らない（もどらない） |
| polite (masen) | 戻りません（もどりません） |
| classical zu / nu | 戻らず・戻らぬ（もどらず・もどらぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 戻った（もどった） |
| polite (mashita) | 戻りました（もどりました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 戻らなかった（もどらなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 戻りませんでした（もどりませんでした） |
| Te form | 戻って（もどって） |
| Potential | 戻れる（もどれる） |
| Passive | 戻られる（もどられる） |
| Causative | 戻らせる（もどらせる） |
| Causative passive | 戻らせられる・戻らされる（もどらせられる・もどらされる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 戻れば（もどれば） |
| tara | 戻ったら（もどったら） |
| Volitional | 戻ろう（もどろう） |
| polite (mashou) | 戻りましょう（もどりましょう） |
| Imperative | 戻れ（もどれ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Transitive / intransitive pair
席に戻る
戻る emphasizes the subject's own movement back to a prior location, while 戻す focuses on the action of putting something back where it belongs.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonym引き返すひきかえすNeutralFor turning back halfway along a route, as in 「途中で引き返す」; the emphasis is on the act of doubling back rather than simply arriving back somewhere.
- Synonym帰るかえるNeutralFor going home or back to where one belongs; 「戻る」 is the general word for returning to any former place or state.
- Synonym舞い戻るまいもどるWrittenWritten-style word for coming back to the original place after moving about, often with a nuance of surprise or of something unwelcome.
- Synonym復帰ふっきFormalFormal noun for returning to one's former post or state, as in 「職場復帰」 (going back to work).
- Synonym返るかえるNeutralFor a thing going back to where it came from, or turning over; the subject is usually an object, as in 「返事が返る」.
- Synonym立ち返るたちかえるWrittenWritten-style word for going back to the starting point or one's original principles, as in 「原点に立ち返る」.
- Synonym立ち戻るたちもどるWrittenWritten-style word for returning once more to a place or state; used less often than 「戻る」.
- Synonym引っ返すひっかえすCasualColloquial word for turning back and returning; more casual than 「引き返す」.
- Synonym取って返すとってかえすWrittenWritten-style word for hurrying back from a place one has gone to, carrying a sense of haste, as in 「慌てて取って返す」.
- Related逆戻りぎゃくもどりNeutralA noun for reverting to a previous state, usually with a negative nuance, as in 「冬に逆戻り」.
- Related帰還きかんFormalFormal word for returning from a distant or dangerous place, as in 「宇宙から帰還する」.
- Related後戻りあともどりNeutralGoing back the way one came, or sliding back to a former state; very often in the negative, as in 「後戻りできない」.
- Related出戻るでもどるCasualColloquial: going back to where one came from, such as a former workplace, or moving back to one's parents' home after a divorce.
- Antonym進むすすむNeutralThe opposite of 「戻る」: to move forward, as in 「前に進む」.
- AntonymいくNeutralThe opposite of 「戻る」: to leave here and head off somewhere else.
- Antonym出るでるNeutralThe opposite of 「戻る」: to go out from inside or leave a place.
Use 「戻る」 as the default for returning to a former place or state. For turning back halfway, choose 「引き返す」; for going home, 「帰る」; for returning to a former post, 「復帰」; for sliding back to a worse state, 「逆戻り」 or 「後戻り」; for moving ahead, the opposite 「進む」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
See also
