転がる To Roll

Meaning

Primary

To Roll

Alternatives

To Tumble, To Lie Down, To Be Scattered About

Word Type

intransitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

You know that the kanji here means revolve. The verb version of this is similar. It means to roll or to tumble. When something is doing these things it is revolving, right?

Reading

ころがる

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

What should you do when you want to roll down a hill? Become a bottle of Corona (ころ). Just imagine yourself as a bottle of Corona, rolling down a hill. You're a Corona bottle, so you roll super easily. Now feel the grass under your glass as you roll down that hill. Nice, isn't it?

Context

Common Word Combinations

• 〜が転がる

  ビー玉が転がる

  a bead rolls

  石が転がる

  a rock rolls

  ボールが転がる

  a ball rolls

• 〜に転がる

  足元に転がる

  to roll at one's feet

  ベッドの上に転がる

  to roll over on the bed

  目の前に転がる

  to roll in front of one's eyes

Context Sentences

ボールが転がる音がした。

There was a sound of a ball rolling.

毛虫なら、その辺りにたくさん転がってるでしょう。

For caterpillars, there are probably many lying down around there.

転がる石？イギリスのロックバンド「ザ・ローリング・ストーンズ」のことですか？

A rolling stone? Do you mean the English rock band The Rolling Stones?

Kanji Composition

1. 転

   てん Revolve