丸い; 円い

まるい · marui · JLPT N5 · i-adj

circular

⚽🍪 maru = circle + i (adjective ending): circle-ish = round

丸 (maru) is the noun for circle, the same maru used for the ○ mark meaning correct. Add the adjective ending い and it becomes round. 丸い usually covers ball-shaped things; 円い leans toward flat circles, as in 円 (yen, a round coin).

丸 — 九 nine + dot 丶
Originally a pictograph showing a small round object or pellet, depicting something that can be rolled. The modern form resembles 九 with a dot, but historically it derives from 仄 inverted, suggesting something tipping or rolling. It came to mean 'round ball,' 'pellet,' or 'pill.'

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