返 - RETURN That Wood to Whence It Came

Readings & Meanings:

かえ（す）

かえ（る）

へん

return

Common Usage:

返す

返事

繰り返し

Examples:

本を図書館に返す。

返事は大きな声でしてください。

漢字の勉強は繰り返し復習することが大切だ。

Translations:

I'm going to return the book to the library.

Please give your answer in a loud voice.

In studying kanji, it is important to repeatedly review them.

Radical:

辶 Shinnyou, spilling out from the left into the bottom, the road particle strikes again.

The phonetic element is 反. This is a hand curving wood back onto itself.

The idea is that you return to your point of origin (via a road?).

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/ka.htm