Japanese word

里帰り

Pronunciation

Romajisatogaeri

Meaning

  • nounreturn to one's parents' home

Example

夏休みに里帰りします。natsu yasu mi ni sato gae ri shi ma su

I return to my parents' home during summer vacation.

Illustration for 里帰り (return to one's parents' home)

More examples

遠くに住む姉の里帰りを、家族みんなで楽しみにしています。tō ku ni su mu ane no sato gae ri o ka zoku mi n na de tano shi mi ni shi te i ma su

The whole family is looking forward to my sister's return to our parents' home from far away.

Core concept

Describes temporarily going back to the family home where one's roots are, usually to visit one's parents.

Common phrases

  • 里帰りをするsato gae ri o su ru

    return to one's parents' home

  • 里帰りの予定sato gae ri no yo tei

    plans to return to one's parents' home

Similar words

帰省kisei: To make a temporary return to the family home, usually to visit one's parents.
帰郷kikyō: To return temporarily to the town where one grew up, whether or not one's parents live there.

Definition in Japanese

親元や故郷に帰ること。oya moto ya ko kyō ni kae ru ko to

Word origin

The noun 里帰り (satogaeri) combines 里 (sato, "hometown") and 帰り (kaeri, "return"), with the k sound changing to g in the compound.

Usage tips

  • The phrase 里帰り出産 (satogaeri shussan) refers to returning to the parental home before childbirth and staying there for postpartum care.

Other meanings

  • visit one's parentsnoun

Word lists with this word