回転

What it means

回転 means rotation or turning; it describes the act of turning around an axis or circular path, and is used for physical rotation, rotational systems, or metaphorical rotation of roles or duties.

Main meanings

• Physical rotation: the act of turning around an axis, producing circular motion.
• Rotating devices and phenomena: wheels, gears, conveyor belts, revolving doors, turntables.
• Conveyor sushi: the practice of serving plates on a rotating belt in restaurants (kaiten-zushi).
• Rotation of roles or duties: assigning tasks in a rotating schedule or shift system.
• Rotation speed or angle: used in physics/engineering as a measure of how fast something turns, often described with 回転数 or 回転角.

How to use it

Used in everyday speech to describe objects that turn or rotate; in scientific and technical contexts as a term for rotational motion and devices; in hospitality and consumer culture for conveyor-belt sushi (回転寿司) and revolving doors; formal discourse often uses compound forms like 回転運動 to specify rotational movement.