Translation guide
Describes an indirect route or a non-direct manner of doing or saying something. In Japanese, this is expressed through specific nouns, adjectives, and verbs that convey physical detours or figurative indirectness.
Taking a longer, indirect path to reach a destination.
Noun/suru-verb meaning 'detour' or 'taking the long way around'. Most common and natural for physical roundabout routes.
Let's take the long way home.
This road is a roundabout way.
Noun meaning 'detour' or 'roundabout route'. Slightly more concrete than 遠回り, often used for road directions.
I took a detour because of construction.
Formal noun/suru-verb for 'detour' or 'bypass', often used in traffic reports or official contexts.
Please take a detour due to an accident.
Expressing something in a non-direct, circumlocutory way.
Na-adjective/noun meaning 'indirect' or 'roundabout' in speech. Often used as 遠回しに言う (to say indirectly).
I was turned down in a roundabout way.
Adjective phrase meaning 'roundabout way of speaking' with a nuance of being long-winded or tedious.
His explanation is roundabout.
Doing something in a non-direct, inefficient way.
Avoid directly translating 'roundabout way' as 円形の道 (circular road) or 回転道 (rotary road). These are incorrect for the intended meaning of indirectness.
Both mean 'detour', but 遠回り emphasizes the extra distance or time, while 回り道 focuses on the route itself. 遠回り is more common in everyday speech.
Please stop beating around the bush.
Noun meaning 'euphemism' or 'circumlocution'. More formal and technical than 遠回し.
Euphemisms are often used in Japanese.
Take a roundabout measure.