return journey; way home; way back
Refers to the route or journey while returning from somewhere. Common in written Japanese and set phrases such as 帰路に就く.
On the way back from the trip, we stopped by Kyoto.
Since it started raining, I hurried on my way home.
When the meeting ended, the participants each started on their way home.
I ran into an accident on my way home.
On the way home, I stopped by the supermarket to buy ingredients for dinner.
帰路 and 帰途 are both formal words for the way home, but 帰路 is slightly more common in writing about travel routes while 帰途 often appears in set phrases like 帰途につく.
帰路 is a more formal, literary word for the way back, while 帰り is the everyday word for returning.
帰路 is the way back, while 往路 is the outward or outbound leg of the same journey.
帰路 (きろ) is pronounced identically to 岐路 but means 'the way home,' not a fork in the road or turning point.
A Sino-Japanese compound: 帰 means 'to return' and 路 means 'road' or 'route,' giving the sense of a route or journey back.