This means to do something again. You do it again to make it better. Or you do it again to fix a mistake.
Verb [stem] + 直すPrimary
This means to do something again. You do it again to make it better. Or you do it again to fix a mistake.
このレポートは間違いが多いので、書き直します。
This report has many mistakes, so I will rewrite it.
よく考えた結果、大学院に進むことを考え直した。
After thinking it over carefully, I reconsidered my decision to go to graduate school.
これは私が書き直した企画書です。
This is the proposal that I rewrote.
一度言った言葉は、もう取り返しがつかないから、言い直せないよ。
Once you've said something, you can't take it back, so you can't rephrase it or say it over.
プランを立て直してから、もう一度会議を開きましょう。
After re-making the plan, let's hold another meeting.
This grammar means you do something again. You do it again to make it better. Maybe the first time was not good enough. You want to fix it. It is like fixing a mistake.
This is different from 〜返す (kaesu). That means doing something back to someone. For example, 言い直す (iinaosu) means to say it again better. 言い返す (iikaesu) means to talk back. It is also different from 〜替える (kaeru). That means to change one thing for another. For example, 乗り換える (norikaeru) means to change trains. 〜直す means to fix or do the same thing again.
Watch out: You use '〜直す' to fix something. It means to do it again to make it better. It is not always the same as 'do it one more time'. For example, 'read again' with '〜直す' means you want to understand it better. If you just want to read it again, use 'もう一度' (mou ichido).
Don't use this when the action cannot be done again. For example, you cannot say "to die again" or "to be born again."
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