ぐるぐる

See also: くるくる

Japanese

Etymology

This term is part of of a cluster of terms derived from root ぐる (guru, “turning? spinning? going around in a circle?”).

ぐるり (gururi, adverb), attested from 1603^[1]
ぐるぐる (guruguru, adverb), attested from 1625^[1]
ぐる (guru, noun), attested from 1692^[1]
ぐるっと (gurutto, adverb), attested from 1907^[1]

This term guruguru could be analyzed as a reduplication of ぐる (guru), or as a shift from くるくる (kurukuru). Japanese adverbs with voiced initial consonants usually refer to softer, heavier, or slower action than counterparts with unvoiced initial consonants.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ぐるぐる [gúꜜrùgùrù] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2]^[3]^[4]
IPA^(key): [ɡɯ̟ɾɯ̟ɡɯ̟ɾɯ̟]

Adverb

ぐるぐる or グルグル • (guruguru)

[from 1625] turning round and round; whirling; spinning
ぐるぐる回(まわ)る
guruguru mawaru
to spin round and round

Usage notes

May be found with or without adverbial particle と (to), sometimes with gemination for emphasis, such as ぐるぐるっと (gurugurutto).

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-3] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[SMK5-4] Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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