返 — “to return / to give back” in Japanese

Grade 3へん, かえ

Radical ⾡ · radical 162 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to return / to give back” in Japanese is 返, read hen, kae (へん, かえ). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 返事 (reply).

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What does 返 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	返
Meaning	to return / to give back
Readings	へん, かえ
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	返事 (reply)

How to read 返

返 is read hen (へん) or kae (かえ) depending on the word.

Words with 返

返事
返戻
返還
繰り返し

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Kanji read the same way as 返

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Updated: 2026-08-28