Translation guide
The English word 'recovery' covers several distinct situations: getting better after illness or injury, bouncing back economically or emotionally, retrieving lost data or objects, and regaining a previous state. Japanese uses different words for each, and the most natural choice depends on what is being recovered and the context.
Expressing that someone's health is improving after being sick or hurt.
General term for recovery of health, strength, or condition. Used for both physical and mental recovery.
彼は病気から回復した。
He recovered from his illness.
体力の回復には時間がかかる。
It takes time to recover your strength.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to heal' or 'to get better'. Used for specific injuries or illnesses.
風邪が治った。
My cold got better.
傷はもう治りましたか。
Has the wound healed yet?
Similar to 回復 but often implies a more complete or pleasant recovery. Slightly more formal or literary.
全快に向かって快復している。
He is recovering toward a full cure.
Talking about recovery of the economy, stock market, or one's spirits.
Also used for economic recovery, recovery of trust, or emotional recovery.
景気は徐々に回復している。
The economy is gradually recovering.
彼は失恋から立ち直って、元気を回復した。
He got over his heartbreak and recovered his spirits.
To bounce back emotionally or financially after a setback. Implies regaining one's footing.
Getting back something that was lost, deleted, or stolen.
Used for restoring systems, data, or services to their original state. Common in IT contexts.
データの復旧に成功した。
We succeeded in recovering the data.
システムの復旧作業を行っている。
We are working on system recovery.
To collect or retrieve physical objects, such as lost items or debts.
To take back or regain something lost, such as money, health, or trust.
Regaining a good position after a mistake or disadvantage.
To recover one's form or strategy, often used in sports or business.
チームは後半で立て直した。
The team recovered in the second half.
To recover from a disadvantage or deficit; to rally.
Overcoming dependence on substances or psychological problems.
To overcome an addiction, fear, or weakness.
彼はアルコール依存症を克服した。
He recovered from alcoholism.
Also used in medical contexts for recovery from mental illness.
うつ病からの回復には支援が必要だ。
Recovery from depression requires support.
回復 (kaifuku) is for health, economy, or abstract states. 復旧 (fukkyū) is for systems, data, or infrastructure returning to a previous working state. Do not use 復旧 for personal health.
Avoid directly translating 'recovery' as リカバリー (rikabarī) in most contexts. The loanword is mainly used in IT (data recovery) or sports (recovery run), and can sound unnatural elsewhere.
彼は失敗から立ち直った。
He recovered from his failure.
落とした財布を回収した。
I recovered my dropped wallet.
彼は失った信頼を取り戻した。
He recovered the lost trust.
彼は遅れを挽回した。
He recovered from the delay.