Doing better with 〜直す

Grammar: Repetition » 〜直す

2018年10月28日

2026年08月10日

Add 直(なお)す to a verb stem to repeat or redo an action, usually to correct the first attempt.

Usage Notes

〜直す means “do again to fix it”. The first attempt was wrong, incomplete, or no longer suitable.

It attaches to the verb stem, as in やり直(なお)す, 書(か)き直(なお)す, and 考(かんが)え直(なお)す.

After imagining her future self, Cocoa realizes her image came out wrong.

ココア:: 「あ　ちょと間違(まちが)えた。やり直(なお)し」; “Ah, I made a little mistake. I'll do it over.”

Cocoa shows off her front crawl swimming form, while on her back flapping her arms.

シャロ:: 「泳(およ)ぎ方(かた)を覚(おぼ)え直(なお)した方(ほう)がいいわね」; “You'd better learn how to swim over again.”

Try finding this grammar in the following examples: