1.
wandering; roaming; loitering
Walking around aimlessly without a clear purpose or destination. Often used in medical contexts for dementia-related wandering.
夜の街を徘徊する。
To roam the streets at night.
認知症の祖父が徘徊して行方不明になった。
My grandfather with dementia wandered off and went missing.
不審者が学校の周辺を徘徊しているとの報告があった。
There was a report of a suspicious person loitering around the school.
徘徊 implies aimless wandering.
CONTEXTS:
- Medical/caregiving: wandering by dementia patients
- Security: suspicious loitering
- Literary: aimless roaming
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 徘徊する: to wander, to roam
- 徘徊行動: wandering behavior
- 徘徊高齢者: wandering elderly person
- 深夜徘徊: wandering around late at night
NOTE ON USAGE:
In medical/caregiving contexts, there's increasing awareness that 徘徊 can sound stigmatizing. Some prefer alternative terms like 一人歩き (walking alone) for dementia-related wandering.