Recognise 戻 in words such as 戻る and 戻す. Learn the whole word together with its reading and meaning.

The idea

Read 戻る as もどる and 戻す as もどす. 戻 has 7 strokes; use the linked KanjiVG diagram to follow their order. Many kanji have Japanese-origin readings (kun) and readings borrowed through Chinese (on); learn each with its word. N3 is an approximate learning level, not an official JLPT kanji list.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
戻るもどるto return; go back
戻すもどすto put back; restore
後戻りあともどりturning back; reversing course

Examples

  • 午後ごごに事務所じむしょへ戻もどります。I will return to the office in the afternoon.
  • 猫ねこが家いえに戻もどりました。The cat came back home.
  • 本ほんを棚たなに戻もどしてください。Please put the book back on the shelf.
  • いすを元もとの場所ばしょに戻もどしました。I put the chair back where it was.
  • もう後戻あともどりできません。We cannot turn back now.
  • 道みちが悪わるくて、後戻あともどりしました。The road was bad, so we turned back.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

戻る is intransitive: a person or thing returns. 戻す is transitive: someone puts something back. Compare the shapes of 戻 and 房; they are different characters.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 戻る in hiragana.

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    もどる

    戻る is read もどる; it means to return; go back.

  2. Write the reading of 戻す in hiragana.

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    もどす

    戻す is read もどす; it means to put back; restore.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: 後＿り（あともどり）.

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    戻

    戻 completes 後戻り, read あともどり; it means turning back; reversing course.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 戻 from memory, and read 戻る and 戻す aloud. Then use one in a sentence.