ごろごろ is a great common word with many styles of usages. It can be onomatopoeic sound for thunder, purring, or the grumbling of a stomach. It may also refer to a large and heavy object starting to roll, like a big snowball rolling down a mountain, or the big rolling stone from Indiana Jones, or even an avalanche dominating all in its path. It can also refer to idleness, or idling about, or simply just being lazy.Finally, if you ever get sand or some other foreign substance in your eyes, that can be explained verbally with ごろごろ as well.

Given that there are various ways to use ごろごろ, it’s best to take a look at some example sentences to fully grasp the meaning.

目がごろごろします。

Me ga gorogoro shimasu.

My eyes feel gritty.

おなかがごろごろ音をたてます。

Onaka ga gorogoro oto wo tatemasu.

My stomach’s making a grumbling noise.

彼は毎日ごろごろ寝て暮らしてます。

Kare ha mainichi gorogoro nete kurashitemasu.

He’s loafing every day.

雷が今にも落ちそうな激しい音でごろごろと鳴った。

kaminari ga ima ni mo ochisou na hageshii oto de gorogoro to natta.

Thunder rolled with menacing crashes.