帰る vs 戻る
JLPT N5 vocabulary · what is the difference?
帰る means going back to where you belong — your home, your hometown, your country — and it implies you are staying there. 戻る just means going back to a place you were earlier, with no sense of belonging and often with the idea that you will leave again; that is why you say 五時に戻ります to your colleagues but 五時に帰ります only if you are done for the day.
When to use each
帰る
かえる
Use 帰る when the destination is your base — home, your family, your country — and the trip ends there. At work, 帰る means leaving for the day, so it is never neutral.
今日は早く帰ります。
きょうははやくかえります。
I'm going home early today.
来年、国に帰ります。
らいねん、くににかえります。
I'm going back to my country next year.
戻る
もどる
Use 戻る for going back to a place, position or state you were in before — your desk, the station, the previous page. It says nothing about belonging, and it usually implies the trip is not over.
三時までに席に戻ります。
さんじまでにせきにもどります。
I'll be back at my desk by three.
切符を忘れて駅に戻りました。
きっぷをわすれてえきにもどりました。
I forgot my ticket and went back to the station.
Sentences where only one works
ちょっと出かけますが、すぐ戻ります。
ちょっとでかけますが、すぐもどります。
I'm stepping out, but I'll be right back.
帰ります here would tell your coworkers you are leaving for the day and not coming back.
仕事が終わったので、家に帰ります。
しごとがおわったので、いえにかえります。
Work is done, so I'm going home.
家に戻ります is possible but sounds like a quick errand — fetching something and heading out again — not finishing your day.
話を元に戻しましょう。
はなしをもとにもどしましょう。
Let's get back to the topic.
戻る and its transitive partner 戻す also cover returning to a previous state, not just a place; 帰る never does.
母は先週、実家に帰りました。
はははせんしゅう、じっかにかえりました。
My mother went back to her family home last week.
実家 is a home she belongs to, so 帰る is the natural verb even though she is only visiting.
Common mistakes
（会社で）ちょっと銀行へ行って、すぐ帰ります。
ちょっと銀行へ行って、すぐ戻ります。
Learners translate "come back" as 帰る. Said in the office, this announces that you are going home for the day — a genuinely confusing thing to tell your boss.
ホテルに帰ります。
ホテルに戻ります。
A hotel is not somewhere you belong, so 戻る is the standard choice. 帰る is heard on long trips once the hotel has become your base, but 戻る is always safe.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use 帰る for a hotel or a dorm?
戻る is the safe choice. If you have been living somewhere a while and it feels like your base, 帰る is used too — students often say 寮に帰る about their dorm.
Is 戻る ever wrong for going home?
Not wrong, but it changes the meaning: 家に戻る sounds like you are popping back for something and then heading out again. For finishing the day, use 帰る.
What about 帰す and 戻す?
Those are the transitive partners — 帰す is sending someone home, 戻す is putting something back, as in 本を棚に戻す, "put the book back on the shelf".