Difference between 帰って来る and 帰る


Consider the following two sentences:

> うちへ **帰って来ます** 。
>
> うちへ **帰ります** 。

What's the difference between these two sentences? How does the bolded part
affect the meaning?




In this context, 帰る can mean either "to come home" or "to go home".
Essentially, it means "to return home", which can imply either direction
(coming or going). So, we use the ～てくる construction (movement toward the
speaker) to make it clear that the person is _coming_ home.

We can also use the ～ていく construction (movement away from the speaker), but I
think it's far less common with 帰る.

Basically:

> （Xは）うちへ帰ってきます。  
>  = X will come home.

> （Xは）うちへ帰っていきます。  
>  = X will go home.

> （Xは）うちへ帰ります。  
>  = X will return home.

* * *

So, if you were out and about, you could say something like,

> ６時に（うちへ）帰ります。  
>  = I'll go home at 6.

Or, someone might say to you,

> ６時に（うちへ）帰っていきますか。  
>  = Are you going home at 6?

But, if you were already at home,

> ６時に（うちへ）帰ってきました。  
>  = I came home at 6.




In this context, 帰る can mean either "to come home" or "to go home".
Essentially, it means "to return home", which can imply either direction
(coming or going). So, we use the ～てくる construction (movement toward the
speaker) to make it clear that the person is _coming_ home.

We can also use the ～ていく construction (movement away from the speaker), but I
think it's far less common with 帰る.

Basically:

> （Xは）うちへ帰ってきます。  
>  = X will come home.

> （Xは）うちへ帰っていきます。  
>  = X will go home.

> （Xは）うちへ帰ります。  
>  = X will return home.

* * *

So, if you were out and about, you could say something like,

> ６時に（うちへ）帰ります。  
>  = I'll go home at 6.

Or, someone might say to you,

> ６時に（うちへ）帰っていきますか。  
>  = Are you going home at 6?

But, if you were already at home,

> ６時に（うちへ）帰ってきました。  
>  = I came home at 6.

