sigoto no kaeri ni panya ni yotte, pan wo kaimasu.

帰り is a noun, while 帰る is a verb.

• 帰る = to return, to go home
• 帰り = the return trip, the way back, the time of returning

So 仕事の帰り literally means the return from work or the way back from work. In natural English, that is usually on the way home from work or after work, on the way back.

Japanese often uses noun forms like 帰り in set expressions like this.

The の connects 仕事 and 帰り.

It shows that the 帰り is related to 仕事:

• 仕事 = work
• 仕事の帰り = the return from work / the way back from work

You can think of it as similar to:

• 学校の帰り = on the way home from school
• 買い物の帰り = on the way back from shopping

So の is acting like from or associated with, depending on how it sounds most natural in English.

Here, に marks the time or occasion when something happens.

So 仕事の帰りに means:

• on the way back from work
• when returning from work

It is similar to how に is used with certain time expressions or occasions:

• 帰りに寄る = stop by on the way back
• 旅行の途中に = in the middle of a trip
• 休みに = during a vacation / on a day off

So the sentence is saying that the action of stopping by the bakery happens during that return-from-work time.

This に marks the place that someone stops by.

The verb 寄る means to stop by or to drop in, and it often takes に for the destination/place visited.

So:

• パン屋に寄る = stop by the bakery
• コンビニに寄る = stop by the convenience store
• 友達の家に寄る = stop by a friend’s house

Even though both are に, they do different jobs here:

• 仕事の帰りに: marks the occasion/time
• パン屋に: marks the place visited

寄って is the て-form of 寄る.

• dictionary form: 寄る
• て-form: 寄って

In this sentence, the て-form connects two actions:

1. パン屋に寄って = stop by the bakery
2. パンを買います = buy bread

So the meaning is:

• stop by the bakery and buy bread

The て-form is very commonly used to link actions in order.

Because the sentence is connecting two actions into one flow.

If you said:

• パン屋に寄ります。パンを買います。

that would mean:

• I stop by the bakery. I buy bread.

That is correct, but it sounds like two separate sentences.

Using 寄って links them more naturally:

• パン屋に寄って、パンを買います。
• I stop by the bakery and buy bread.

So 寄って is not a tense by itself here; it is a connecting form.

Yes. パン屋 literally means bread shop.

• パン = bread
• 屋 = shop/store, often attached to what is sold

So パン屋 means bakery.

Other examples:

• 本屋 = bookstore
• 花屋 = flower shop
• 魚屋 = fish shop / fishmonger

It is a very common word, and in this sentence it simply means bakery.

を marks the direct object of the verb.

Here:

• パン = bread
• 買います = buy
• パンを買います = buy bread

So を tells you what is being bought.

This is one of the most basic uses of を:

• 本を読みます = read a book
• 水を飲みます = drink water
• 切符を買います = buy a ticket

It is the non-past form in Japanese.

That means 買います can mean:

• buy
• will buy
• usually buy

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, it could mean:

• a habitual action: I stop by the bakery on my way home from work and buy bread
• a future action: I’ll stop by the bakery on my way home from work and buy bread

Japanese often leaves that distinction to context, unlike English, which usually forces you to choose more clearly.

Japanese often omits the subject when it is already understood from context.

So even though English usually needs I, he, she, or they, Japanese often leaves it out if it is obvious.

This sentence could mean:

• I stop by the bakery on the way home from work and buy bread
• He stops by the bakery on the way home from work and buys bread

The listener figures it out from the situation.

This is very normal in Japanese and one of the biggest differences from English.

Sometimes yes, but the nuance is a little different.

• 帰り = the return, the way back, the time of going back
• 帰り道 = the road/path/way home, the route back

So:

• 仕事の帰りに = on the way back from work / when coming back from work
• 仕事の帰り道に = on the way home from work, more literally along the route home

In many situations they are close in meaning, but 仕事の帰りに is very natural and common for this kind of sentence.

The comma shows a pause between the linked actions.

• パン屋に寄って、パンを買います。

It is similar to a small pause in speech:

• stop by the bakery, and buy bread

Japanese punctuation is often lighter and more flexible than English punctuation, but here the comma helps readability and makes the sequence of actions clear. The sentence would still be understandable without it in many cases.