復旧

• Reading: ふっきゅう
• Romaji: fukkyuu
• Kanji breakdown: 復 (fuku) — return, restore, repeat; 旧 (kyuu) — old, former, previous
• Pronunciation: /ɸɯk.kʲɯː/

Meaning

Restoration; recovery; rehabilitation. Returning something to its original working state after damage or disruption.

A noun and suru-verb meaning to restore or repair infrastructure, services, or systems to their pre-disaster state. Distinct from 復興 (fukkou, reconstruction/revival), which implies building back better or revitalising a community. 復旧 focuses on returning to the previous condition — fixing what was broken. Very common in disaster recovery contexts: 復旧作業 (fukkyuu sagyou, restoration work), 復旧工事 (fukkyuu kouji, repair construction).

Examples

1. 台風で止まった電車は午後に復旧した。 The train service that stopped due to the typhoon was restored in the afternoon.
2. 道路の復旧工事が急ピッチで進められている。 Road repair work is being pushed ahead at a rapid pace.
3. システム障害からの復旧に数時間かかった。 It took several hours to recover from the system failure.

Usage Guide

Context: disaster recovery, infrastructure, IT

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From Sino-Japanese: 復 (fuku, return/restore) + 旧 (kyuu, old/former). Literally 'return to the old state' — restoring something to how it was before.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal