帰らなくて

not return, not go home

→ 帰る

帰ら go back + なく Negative + て Te-form (conjunctive form)

verb · informal Rare #36,997

not return, not go home The negative te-form of 帰る; it often connects to another phrase, as in 帰らなくてはならない (must return) or 帰らなくてもいい (don’t have to return).

JA: 今日は家に帰らなくて、友達の家に泊まります。

EN: I’m not going home today; I’m staying at a friend’s house.

Conjugation of 帰る

Present

帰る

帰って帰らなくて帰り帰らん

Past

Optative

Indicative

Desiderative

Imperative

Conditional

Indicative present

Potential

Indicative past

Necessitative

Desiderative present

I have to go home now.

帰らなくてもいいんだ

You don't have to go home.

— ラブ・アクチュアリー (2003)

まだパキスタンには…両親が留学で来て帰らなくて―カナダもまだです

Not yet, Pakistan either... My parents came here to study abroad and never went back—and Canada, not yet either.

— ビッグ・シックぼくたちの大いなる目ざめ (2017)

帰らなくていいの？

Don’t you need to go home?

— 天気の子 (2019)