折り返す|おりかえすorikaesu[3]nakadaka (mid-high)
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- godan verb, transitive verbto turn up (hem, sleeves, etc.); to fold back (e.g. page)
- godan verb, transitive verbto turn back; to double back; to return
- godan verb, transitive verb, computingto loopback (a signal, message, etc.)
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 折り返す(おりかえす) |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 折り返します(おりかえします) |
| Negative (nai) | 折り返さない(おりかえさない) |
| polite (masen) | 折り返しません(おりかえしません) |
| classical zu / nu | 折り返さず・折り返さぬ(おりかえさず・おりかえさぬ) |
| Past (ta) | 折り返した(おりかえした) |
| polite (mashita) | 折り返しました(おりかえしました) |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 折り返さなかった(おりかえさなかった) |
| polite (masen deshita) | 折り返しませんでした(おりかえしませんでした) |
| Te form | 折り返して(おりかえして) |
| Potential | 折り返せる(おりかえせる) |
| Passive | 折り返される(おりかえされる) |
| Causative | 折り返させる(おりかえさせる) |
| Causative passive | 折り返させられる(おりかえさせられる) |
| Conditional (ba) | 折り返せば(おりかえせば) |
| tara | 折り返したら(おりかえしたら) |
| Volitional | 折り返そう(おりかえそう) |
| polite (mashou) | 折り返しましょう(おりかえしましょう) |
| Imperative | 折り返せ(おりかえせ) |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
- Related引き返すひきかえすNeutralGoing back the way you came, focused on turning back midway (「途中で引き返す」); 折り返す also covers turning around at the endpoint or calling back.
- Related後戻りあともどりNeutralA noun for backtracking or going backward (「議論が後戻りする」), used mostly in abstract senses like an argument regressing.
- Related戻るもどるNeutralThe most general word for returning to where you were (「家に戻る」); it does not highlight the act of turning around.
- Related取って返すとってかえすNeutralRushing back at once (「忘れ物に気づいて取って返す」); stresses immediacy and leans toward written/formal prose.
- Related引っ返すひっかえすNeutralA colloquial form of 引き返す (「慌てて引っ返す」) with a more casual tone.
- Related出戻るでもどるNeutralReturning to one's parents' home after divorce or to a former employer after leaving a job (「出戻り社員」); the former can carry a slightly disparaging nuance.
Use 「折り返す」 for turning around at a turnaround point, folding cloth back, or calling back (「折り返し地点」「折り返し電話します」). For turning back partway, use 「引き返す」; for going back in general, 「戻る」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only


