To turn or rotate around an axis; to revolve or spin.
歯車がゆっくり回っている。
The gear is slowly turning.
子どもがブランコでくるくる回った。
The child spun round and round on the swing.
地球は自転しながら太陽のまわりを回る。
The Earth spins on its axis while revolving around the sun.
To go around or circle something; to orbit or revolve around (e.g., a satellite around a planet).
月が地球のまわりを回る。
The moon revolves around the Earth.
小さな衛星が惑星の周りを高速で回っている。
A small satellite is orbiting the planet at high speed.
犬が飼い主の足もとを何度も回った。
The dog circled around its owner’s feet several times.
To make the rounds; to go around several places (e.g., visiting homes, stores, or making a tour).
週末は友だちの家を何軒か回った。
I went around to several friends' houses over the weekend.
候補者は選挙期間中、町中を回って支持を訴えた。
During the campaign, the candidate toured the town asking for support.
営業の担当者が取引先を回っている。
The sales representative is visiting clients.
To go via or by way of a place; to stop by on the way; to take a detour.
帰りにスーパーに回って夕飯の材料を買った。
On my way home I stopped by the supermarket to buy ingredients for dinner.
駅を回って行くと少し時間がかかる。
Going via the station takes a little more time.
To move around to another place or position; to switch sides (e.g., to move from offense to defense) or be reassigned.
彼はフォワードから守備に回った。
He switched from forward to defense.
この仕事は一度新人に回してみよう。
Let's pass this task to a new employee for a try.
To come around (one's turn); to be passed around (e.g., a cup in a group).
次は君の番だよ。順番が回ってきたね。
It's your turn next. Your turn has come around.
飲み物のコップがテーブルを回ってきた。
The drinking cup was passed around the table.
To function or work well; for systems or operations to run smoothly.
チームがうまく回り始めた。
The team has started to run smoothly.
会社の仕組みが回っていないので改善が必要だ。
The company's mechanisms aren't working properly, so improvements are needed.
To spread or reach; to take effect (for example, alcohol or poison spreading through the body).
噂はすぐ町中に回った。
The rumor quickly spread around town.
酒を飲んでしばらくしたら、酔いが回ってきた。
After drinking for a while, the drunk feeling started to come on.
香りが部屋中に回っている。
The fragrance is spreading throughout the room.
To indicate time passing or that a certain time has been passed (e.g., 'it's past five o'clock').
もう深夜で、12時を回っていた。
It was already late at night; it was past midnight.
時間が回るのが早く感じる。
Time seems to pass quickly.
To yield interest or return (colloquially used to say an investment returns X percent).
このファンドは年に約4%回ると予想されている。
This fund is expected to yield about 4% annually.
設備投資が回ってくれば、利益も出るだろう。
If the capital investment starts to pay off, profits should come.
As a suffix attached to the -masu stem of verbs to mean '... around/about' or 'do ... repeatedly/throughout various places' (e.g., hashirimawaru 'run around', sagashimawaru 'search around').
子どもたちは校庭を走り回って遊んでいる。
The children are running around the schoolyard playing.
事故の後、警察が現場を調べて回った。
After the accident, the police inspected the scene around (various points).