Japanese word

転がす

Pronunciation

Romajikorogasu

Meaning

  • verbdrive, roll

Example

車を転がします。kuruma o koro ga shi ma su

I drive the car.

Illustration for 転がす (drive)

More examples

ボールを転がします。bō ru o koro ga shi ma su

I roll the ball.

父は今も古い車を転がしています。chichi wa ima mo furu i kuruma o koro ga shi te i ma su

My father still drives an old car.

Core concept

Causes an object to move along by rolling it, and by extension moves a vehicle through driving it.

Common phrases

  • 車を転がすkuruma o koro ga su

    drive a car

Similar words

運転するuntensuru: To operate a vehicle and guide it as it moves.
走らせるhashiraseru: To make a vehicle travel along a road or other route.
駆るkaru: To drive a vehicle swiftly or forcefully.

Definition in Japanese

物を回転させながら移動させる。転じて、車などを運転する。mono o kai ten sa se na ga ra i dō sa se ru ten ji te kuruma na do o un ten su ru

Word origin

転がす (korogasu) is related to the intransitive verb 転がる (korogaru) and uses the causative ending す (su), meaning to make something roll.

Usage tips

  • In casual Japanese, 車を転がす (kuruma o korogasu) can mean driving a car rather than literally rolling it, showing how the rolling sense extends to vehicle movement.

Other meanings

  • wheelverb

Word lists with this word