Japanese symbol for “flail”
転
くるり
Romaji: kururi
turning around (once)
In Japanese, flail is 転, read くるり (kururi).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- adv, adv-to turning around (once)
- adv, adv-to suddenly; abruptly
- adv, adv-to completely (wrapped in something); quickly (unwrapping something)
- adv, adv-to beautiful, round (eyes)
- n flail (for threshing grain)
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “flail”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 殻竿 | からざお karazao | flail (for threshing grain) |
| くるり棒 | くるりぼう kururibou | flail (for threshing grain) |
| 乳切り木 | ちぎりき chigiriki | weight-chain-pole weapon; flail |
| ばたつかせる | ばたつかせる batatsukaseru | to flap (hands, feet, wings); to thrash around; to flail |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 運転 | うんてん unten | operation (of a machine); running; working |
| 自転車 | じてんしゃ jitensha | bicycle; bike |
| 回転 | かいてん kaiten | rotation; revolution; turn |
| 移転 | いてん iten | moving; relocation; change of address |
| 逆転 | ぎゃくてん gyakuten | reversal (of a situation); turnaround; turnabout |
| 転換 | てんかん tenkan | conversion; diversion; changeover |
See also: Chinese symbol for “flail”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.