返る

• (reverse, turn over; renew; continuative verb suffix): 反る

⟨kape₁ru⟩ → */kapʷeru/ → /kaferu/ → /kawʲeru/ → /kaeru/

From Old Japanese.

Appears to be derived from a kape- stem, compare 返す (kaesu, “return”, transitive).

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) か​える [káꜜèrù] (Atamadaka – [1])[1][2][3]
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠e̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

返る (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana かえる, rōmaji kaeru, historical hiragana かへる)

1. to return, go back
2. to reverse, turn over
   1. to move in the opposite direction
   2. to interchange front and back
3. to change color, fade
4. (of a year) to renew
5. (by extension) to start over
6. suffixed to the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of a verb:
   1. to [verb] completely
   2. to [verb] over and over or repeatedly
      • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 12, poem 2890), text here

        夜 (ぬ)干 (ば)玉 (たま)之 (の)夜 (よ)乎 (を)長 (ながみ)鴨 (かも)吾 (わが)背 (せ)子 (こ)之 (が)夢 (いめ)尓 (に)夢 (いめ)西 (にし)所 (み)見 (え)還 (かへる)良 (ら)武 (む) [Man'yōgana]

        ぬばたまの夜 (よ)を長 (なが)みかもわが背 (せ)子 (こ)が夢 (いめ)に夢 (いめ)にし見 (み)えかへるらむ [Modern spelling]

        nubatama no yo o nagami ka mo waga seko ga ime ni ime ni shi mie-kaeruran

        (please add an English translation of this example)

• 帰 (かえ)る, 還 (かえ)る (kaeru, “go home”)
• 孵 (かえ)る (kaeru, “hatch out”)
• 覆 (くつがえ)る (kutsugaeru, “topple”)
• 翻 (ひるがえ)る (hirugaeru, “turn around”)

• 戻 (もど)る (modoru, “return, turn back”)