旋 means “revolve, turn, circle”

せん · sen

Also: rotation, go around

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

めぐる, いばり

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

セン

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 11 strokes

The story

A flag (方 and the banner strokes at its top right, as in 旗) with marching feet (疋) below: the Shuowen pictures troops wheeling to follow a waving banner. A plane 旋回する as it circles, a 螺旋 is a spiral, and a 旋律, melody, turns and returns.

Used in 旋回 (senkai, circling/turning), 旋律 (senritsu, melody), and 螺旋 (rasen, spiral)

More from Routes & Returns

• 迭 replace
• 遷 move
• 遡 go upstream
• 臨 face
• 還 return
• 至 reach
• 滞 stagnate
• 沿 run along
• 巡 go around
• 往 go
• 軌 track
• 逸 deviate

Learn 旋 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.