Translation guide
The English verb "recover" covers several distinct situations: getting back something lost, returning to health, bouncing back emotionally or financially, and retrieving data or objects. Japanese uses different verbs for each.
To recover from an illness, injury, or surgery; to get back to a healthy state.
General term for recovering health, strength, or condition. Used for both physical and mental recovery.
彼は病気から完全に回復した。
He fully recovered from his illness.
Recovery after the surgery is going well.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to heal' or 'to get better'. Used for injuries, wounds, or diseases. The subject is the affected body part or illness.
風邪が治った。
My cold got better.
傷はもう治りましたか。
Has your wound healed yet?
Transitive verb meaning 'to cure' or 'to heal'. The subject is the person or treatment that causes recovery.
医者が私の病気を治してくれた。
The doctor cured my illness.
Literally 'to become well/energetic'. A casual, everyday way to say someone recovered their energy or spirits.
もう元気になったよ。
I'm all better now.
To recover a lost item, stolen property, or something taken away.
To take back or regain something that was lost, stolen, or given away. Emphasizes the action of reclaiming.
盗まれた財布を取り戻した。
I recovered my stolen wallet.
彼は自信を取り戻した。
He regained his confidence.
To collect or retrieve something, often used for objects, data, or materials in a systematic way. More formal than 取り戻す.
警察が盗品を回収した。
The police recovered the stolen goods.
To find something that was lost. Often used when the recovery is simply locating the item.
To recover from emotional shock, sadness, or a setback; to regain composure.
To get back on one's feet emotionally or mentally after a difficult experience. Implies resilience.
彼女は失恋から立ち直った。
She recovered from her broken heart.
失敗から立ち直るのに時間がかかった。
It took time to recover from the failure.
Also used for emotional recovery, but more formal and less vivid than 立ち直る.
心の傷が回復する。
Emotional wounds heal.
To recover from financial loss, economic downturn, or a market decline.
Standard term for economic or financial recovery.
景気が回復し始めた。
The economy has started to recover.
株価が回復した。
Stock prices recovered.
To pick up or improve after a decline, often used for markets, business conditions, or personal finances.
業績が持ち直した。
Business performance recovered.
To recover deleted files, data, or information from a computer or device.
To restore or recover data to its original state. Common in IT contexts.
削除したファイルを復元する。
Recover deleted files.
Also used for data recovery, but 復元 is more precise.
データを回復する。
Recover data.
To regain consciousness after fainting or being knocked out.
Literally 'to take back consciousness'. The standard phrase.
彼は数分後に意識を取り戻した。
He recovered consciousness after a few minutes.
To come to one's senses, often used when recovering from a daze or confusion. Slightly literary.
彼はやっと正気に返った。
He finally came to his senses.
To recover a dead body, wreckage, or remains.
回復する is a general term for recovery (health, economy, condition) and can be used for both physical and abstract things. 治る is specifically for healing of injuries or illnesses and is intransitive (the wound heals). Use 治す when someone cures something.
For emotional recovery, 立ち直る is much more natural than 回復する, which can sound clinical. 回復する for emotions is possible but less common in casual speech.
早く良くなりますように。
I hope you recover soon.
Natural well-wishing; 回復しますように is also possible but slightly formal.
患者はすぐに回復した。
The patient recovered quickly.
彼女はその事故から完全には立ち直れなかった。
She never fully recovered from the accident.
Emotional/psychological recovery nuance.
なくした鍵を見つけた。
I found (recovered) my lost keys.