povratiti

Povratiti is a verb used in Croatian, Bosnian and Serbian to express the idea of regaining something that was lost or restoring a condition to its previous state. The core sense is to recover or restore, often applied to health, strength, energy, or a situation. It can also convey returning something to its prior condition, continuing the semantic field of the root vratiti, which means to return, with the prefix po- that adds nuances of restoration or reoccurrence.

Etymology and form: povratiti is formed from the verb vratiti (to return) with the prefix po-, which adds a sense of repetition or restoration. The word is typically used in a transitive sense, taking a direct object such as health, strength, or energy, and can appear in various tenses and moods according to standard South Slavic conjugation. In some contexts a reflexive form povratiti se may be used to describe recovering oneself or returning to normal condition.

Usage and notes: Common contexts include health and well-being, for example, Poslije bolesti uspio je povratiti snagu. Lijekovi pomažu povratiti izgubljeno zdravlje. In everyday speech, povratiti tends to be more formal or literary; more colloquial alternatives for “recover” include oporaviti se or vratiti se, depending on nuance and region.

See also: vratiti, oporaviti se, povratnost.