Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.

Words Kanji Guides About

眩く (くるめく) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

眩くるめく

く

る

め

く

Meanings

1

godan verb (-ku), intransitive verb

feel dizzy; feel faint

Describes a sensation of dizziness or lightheadedness, often from illness, shock, or overwhelming emotion.

立たち上あがったとたん、目めの前まえがくるめいた。
The moment I stood up, I felt dizzy.
その知しらせを聞きいて、

頭あたま

が

くるめく

思おも

い

だっ

た

。

Hearing the news, I felt faint.

2

godan verb (-ku), intransitive verb

spin; revolve; twirl

Original meaning; now rare and mostly literary. Describes something spinning or revolving. Also written as 転く in older texts.

風ふう車しゃが風かぜにくるめく。
The windmill spins in the wind.
古ふるい文ぶん献けんでは、車しゃ輪りんがくるめくと表ひょう現げんされることがある。
In old texts, a wheel is sometimes described as くるめく (spinning).

Written forms

眩くるめくUsage94%
Standard kanji form for the modern 'dizzy' sense; also used for the older 'spin' sense.
くるめくUsage6%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the intended kanji nuance is not important.
眩くるめく
Variant spelling with okurigana め; less common but still encountered.

Kanji

眩faint, dizzy

Similar words

目眩めまい
めまい is a noun meaning 'dizziness' or 'vertigo', while くるめく is a verb describing the sensation of feeling dizzy or faint.
回まわる
まわる is the common verb for 'to spin' or 'to revolve'; くるめく is a rare, literary alternative for the same meaning.

Etymology

The verb くるめく is likely derived from the mimetic root くる (indicating spinning or turning) combined with the verbal suffix めく. The original meaning was 'to spin', which later extended to the sensation of dizziness. The kanji 眩 (dazzling, dizzy) is used for the modern sense, while 転 (revolve, turn) appears in older texts for the original meaning.