空から回まわり

か

ら

ま

わ

り

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

racing; idling; spinning without traction

Mechanical sense: an engine revving without load, or wheels spinning without gripping the surface.

雪ゆき道みちでタイヤが空から回まわりして進すすめなかった。
The tires spun on the snowy road and we couldn't move forward.
クラッチが滑すべ

っ

て

エンジン

が

空から

回まわ

り

し

て

いる

。

The clutch is slipping and the engine is racing.

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

going in circles; fruitless; getting nowhere

Figurative use: discussions, efforts, or thoughts that are unproductive or repetitive without reaching a conclusion.

会かい議ぎは空から回まわりして、何なにも決きまらなかった。
The meeting went around in circles and nothing was decided.
焦あせるほど考かんがえが空から回まわりしてしまう。
The more I panic, the more my thoughts just spin fruitlessly.

Written forms

空から回まわりUsage93%
Standard kanji spelling; used in news and common writing.
空からまわりUsage7%
search-only kanji form
Search-only form; not a standard written variant.
から回まわり
Mixed kana-kanji spelling sometimes seen in informal writing.

Kanji

空empty, sky, void
回-times, round, game

Similar words

空くう転てん
空転 is more technical and often used for mechanical idling or spinning without load, similar to 空回り sense 1, but less common for figurative fruitless activity.
堂どう々どう巡めぐり
堂々巡り specifically means going around in circles in discussion or thought, similar to 空回り sense 2, but emphasizes repetitive, unproductive debate rather than mere lack of progress.

Etymology

Compound of 空 (から, 'empty') and 回り (まわり, 'turning'), literally 'empty spinning'. The figurative sense developed from the mechanical meaning of spinning without traction.