To Roll Something
To Turn Something Over
transitive verb, godan verb
This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means revolve, and the verb version is when you make something revolve. You roll it. That's why this verb is to roll something.
This is a transitive verb. That means you roll something else, like a ball. Or, if you're a dung beetle, poop. 💩 Not to be confused with 転がる, which is intransitive, like so many verbs ending in がる.
You learned this reading when you learned 転がる, but here's a mnemonic anyway just in case:
When you try to roll something, the outside bits may be moving, but its core (ころ) stays still. Picture yourself making the earth roll across the floor. The outside parts where the people live are spinning round and round, but the earth's core is in exactly the same place.
石を転がした。
I rolled a stone.
ちょうどサイコロを転がした時、電話が来た。
Just when I just rolled the dice, the phone rung.
Dung beetleは、フンを転がすことから「フンコロガシ」と言います。
Dung beetles are called “poop rollers” because they roll poop.