French flag

Revenir vs. retourner vs. rentrer

Word practice demo
The French language is very specific about direction when discussing returning somewhere. While English frequently uses to return or to go back interchangeably, French distinguishes between coming back to a current location (revenir), going back to a distant location (retourner), and returning home (rentrer).

Revenir

A2
This word generally means to come back. You use revenir when the subject is returning to the place where the speaker is currently located right now.
Je reviens dans cinq minutes.
(I am coming back in five minutes.)
Est-ce qu'il est revenu du travail ?
(Has he come back from work?)
Ne pars pas, reviens ici !
(Don't leave, come back here!)
Ce problème revient souvent.
(This problem comes back often.)

Retourner

A2
This word means to go back. You use retourner when talking about going back to a place where the speaker is not currently located. It implies moving away from the current location toward a previous one.
J'ai oublié mon passeport, je dois retourner à la maison.
(I forgot my passport, I have to go back to the house.)
Elle a adoré Paris et veut y retourner bientôt.
(She loved Paris and wants to go back there soon.)
Retourne à ta place s'il te plaît.
(Go back to your seat please.)
Nous allons retourner au magasin pour échanger ce pantalon.
(We are going to go back to the store to exchange these pants.)

Rentrer

A1
This verb specifically refers to going home or going back inside. It is used when the destination is one's residence, country of origin, or simply moving from outdoors to indoors.
Il est tard, je vais rentrer.
(It is late, I am going to go home.)
Il commence à pleuvoir, nous devons rentrer.
(It is starting to rain, we have to go back inside.)
Quand est-ce que tu rentres de vacances ?
(When are you coming home from vacation?)
Les élèves sont rentrés en classe.
(The students went back into class.)

Summary

To summarize the logic simply: use revenir to say come back (here), use retourner to say go back (there), and use rentrer when the destination is home or inside.