Translation guide
How to express the idea of something long and flexible wrapping or coiling around something else in Japanese.
Describing vines, strings, snakes, or similar things physically coiling or winding around an object.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to twine around' or 'to coil around'. Used when the subject itself wraps around something.
ツタが木に巻き付いている。
The ivy is twining around the tree.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to twine around' or 'to entangle'. Often implies a more messy or tangled wrapping.
糸が足に絡み付いた。
The thread twined around my leg.
Transitive verb meaning 'to wind around' or 'to twine around'. Used when someone wraps something around something else.
彼はロープを柱に巻き付けた。
He twined the rope around the post.
Transitive verb meaning 'to entwine' or 'to twine around'. Often used for deliberate or decorative wrapping.
彼女はリボンを髪に絡めた。
She twined the ribbon around her hair.
Describing a person wrapping their arms or legs around someone or something, often in a hug or cling.
Literally 'to wind one's arms around'. Common for hugging or clinging.
子供が母親の首に腕を巻き付けた。
The child twined their arms around their mother's neck.
Literally 'to entwine one's legs'. Used when legs are wrapped around something or someone.
彼女は彼の足に自分の足を絡めた。
She twined her legs around his.
Means 'to cling to' or 'to hold on tightly'. Often implies wrapping arms and legs around.
Describing a situation where someone becomes emotionally or situationally entangled with something or someone.
Intransitive verb meaning 'to be involved with' or 'to get entangled with'. Can be used for people or situations.
彼は面倒な問題に絡まれてしまった。
He got twined up in a troublesome problem.
Passive form meaning 'to be caught up in' or 'to be involved in'. Often used for unwanted involvement.
彼は事件に巻き込まれた。
He got twined up in the incident.
巻き付く (makitsuku) implies a neat, spiral wrapping, while 絡み付く (karamitsuku) suggests a more tangled, messy entanglement. Use 巻き付く for vines or deliberate coiling, and 絡み付く for threads or hair that become tangled.
Directly translating 'twine around' into Japanese for figurative entanglement often sounds unnatural. Use 絡む (karamu) or 巻き込まれる (makikomareru) instead.
彼は木にしがみついた。
He clung to the tree, twining his arms and legs around it.