A forward or backward roll; often used in contexts like gymnastics, play, or falling.
子供がもんどりを打って遊んでいる。
The children are playing by doing somersaults.
彼は
He tumbled head over heels down the stairs.
Applies to each form listed below
Usually written in kana; the kanji form 翻筋斗 is rare.
Rare kanji form; the reading is a gikun/jukujikun.
The origin is uncertain. The kanji 翻筋斗 is a jukujikun reading, where the characters mean 'turn', 'muscle/tendon', and 'dipper/ ladle', but the reading もんどり is not derived from the individual kanji sounds.