治(なお)る

A godan verb (る row) meaning for an illness or injury to heal. This is the kanji used specifically for medical recovery, as distinguished from 直(なお)る (to be fixed/corrected). Both are homophones read なおる, but the kanji choice differs by context.

Transitivity

Intransitive. The transitive counterpart is 治(なお)す (to cure, to heal someone).

Writing

Use 治(なお)る for illness and injury recovery. Use 直(なお)る for fixing mechanical problems, correcting mistakes, or bad habits improving. In practice, many writers use 直(なお)る for both, but 治(なお)る is the precise choice for medical contexts.

Common collocations

• 風邪(かぜ)が治(なお)る — a cold gets better
• 病気(びょうき)が治(なお)る — an illness is cured
• 傷(きず)が治(なお)る — a wound heals
• 怪我(けが)が治(なお)る — an injury heals
• すっかり治(なお)る — to completely recover

Similar words

• 直(なお)る — to be fixed, to be corrected; used for non-medical fixes like repairing machines or correcting habits
• 回復(かいふく)する — to recover; more formal and used for both medical and non-medical recovery (e.g., economic recovery)